New Car Loan Detail

We bough Gameboy's new Prius late last month. This week we got a new loan from a credit union. Why change loans after 3 weeks? A little thing called the interest rate.

When we sat down to do the financing at the dealership the first rate they told us was 7.99%. I looked at them like they had lost their mind. My auto credit score was low/mid 700's, his was upper 600's. In most of the places where we shopped the loan those rates put us in the first or second tier. We hemmed and hawed a bit. The finance guy magically came up with 5.74% from a bank they partner with. Because we had the option to shop the loan in the first 45 days (and I was driving 100 miles a day to get us both to work) we told them to start processing.

The next few days I called all of the banks/credit unions where we have accounts. We bank with a big bank, I have another account with a national bank, and I have two credit union accounts that I go back and forth about closing back home. One bank couldn't beat 5.74%, the other took 8 days to call me back. Both credit unions had rates just under 5%. We gave both permission to run our credit so we could get exact answers. The first offered 4.6%, which we were ok with. The second offered 4.4%, making us happier.

As we started the long distance paperwork I went to their website a lot. I'm bad at keeping track of phone numbers. On day 2 of the process their leading banner changed from something about college loans to new car loan rates for 'green cars.' I can't remember the last time I dialed that fast.

The final verdict: 4.15% interest with payments at $506. The difference in finance charge is ~$1,5oo. Not that we plan on having the loan for the full 60 months ;). We're thinking we'll get it knocked out in around 2.5 years.

In the future I'd shop the loans and get the better rate first, but if you have a loan with a crappy rate looking into refinancing with a credit union may be a good idea.

Note to self

Putting off taxes and quarterly reports should be avoided.

I think next year we'll use a tax preparer. I say this every year but what end up holding me back is not so great record keeping and finding the time. It's a bit like going to the hairdresser. Once I'm there I love it, but scheduling, getting my hair in hairdresser shape* and driving there are just too much. So I end up doing my hair on the couch with a tv marathon ever couple of weeks.

This weekend my husband and I are going to have a conversation about record keeping. We need a system beyond "this is a household thing hon, here you go." I happily do the household finances, but maintaining a filing system on my own is not something I'm up for. The summer I worked at a credit union relabeling and moving 2 walls of file cabinets killed that.

I have a couple of ideas/options.

• File folders that we just drop things in by category
• Expandable file with categories
• The baggie system- putting all receipts for a month in a sandwhich bag and dealing with them at the end of the year. This is from a coworker.

Do you have any super easy ways to keep all of the documents from taking over or flying away?

*My hair and combs don't get along. I break around 2/year. My hair is usually twisted so hairdresser prep involves un twisting and detangling (2-3 hours), then (without retangling) getting my hair to do something that's acceptable for leaving the house. It's a process.

Busy

Somehow the personal and busy times seem to overlap. Nothing I can't handle, but it's keeping me on my toes.

Personal:
Taxes- almost done

Adjusting car loan- we got a loan from a dealer with the option to shop the loan for 45 days. I'm using a long distance credit union that will be great once I get through the hoops. I need to get pay stubs and possibly this year's taxes to them.

Dealing with old car- the mechanic who has it has been very against donating it. He wants us to give him the title to wipe out our diagnostic bill. I think he's full of it. Gameboy is going to see if he'll forget the bill and give us a few hundred. Otherwise it's being donated.

Landscaping- we got the quote for the front yard. I almost fell over. I understand why so many people use grass even though it's more maintenance and water. We have to decide how important low maintenence and water consumption are for us. Also if there is a way to work the price into our budget.

Professional:
Grant spend down- I have 3 grant budgets that I run. All have spend down deadlines, one in April and two in June. I've been working on getting programming together for June and paying tuition bills for April. Yesterday I learned that 8 people never attended classes so I have a few thousand to reallocate.

Maternity leave madness- my director is on maternity leave. Before she left we created a pretty plan. The stuff covered on the plan is fine, more work but manageable. It's all the other stuff that comes up that makes my head spin.

External players- really this should be external players that don't return calls/emails. Recently I've had a few who don't get back to me then after a deadline want me to rework things. I'm so over this.

Alligning Vision

Today, as we both drove home, my husband and I talked about what we should do with our tax refund. Whenever we have a windfall ($1,000 plus) I check in to see if there's anything outside of our game plan that he would like to happen with the money. I map out what I would like to happen, gather numbers, then talk to him.

The first thing- pay our state taxes was a given. Then I wanted to pay off my car and put asside the remaining funds for our 0% interest appliance fund. Depending on when we actually have the refund in our hands there will be $500-1000 left after doing those things. There are a few options:

• Extra payment on the Prius
• Rebuild the efund (used $3,000 as a car down payment)
• Home exterior fund (landscaping (HOA required)/patio furniture)

I gave the first two options and with no needling he agreed that we should rebuild the efund. If you knew my husband and/or have heard the range of financial discussions we've had over the past 2.5 years you would get how amazing that is. He gets the value of having a cushion, but given the choice would much rather pay off debt. If the economy were different or his job was different I may agree. But they're not, so having a small efund makes me happy.

Despite my efund love we're going with option 3. Our lawn is diseased in the front and a required tree is missing. We're leaning towards xeriscaping to reduce water consumption. The problem is we have no clue what this will cost. If there is no blizzard when we wake up a landscaper is coming over with a drawing and numbers. The HOA fine season and plan approval requirement make this time sensitive. So whatever is left after we pay off the debts on the top of our list will be spent on the house.

Next month I'll get a new plan together that will rebuild the efund and attack the Prius loan.

Net Worth

We financed the car. My networth fell. It's -16,184. Really, there's not much more to say.

Without the new car loan the line would have continued it's happy climb. I'm pretty confident that over the next months it will continue the upward climb. The break even point will fall sometime next year. Probably late summer unless the comissions (him) and snowflakes (me) are amazing for the next of the year.

Speaking of snowflakes- I made no extra money during March. That's the first time in more than a year.

1st Quarter Check In

We're a quarter of the way through 2009. This is crazy. I thought this would be a good time to look at my annual goals and see what I still need to do.

Things I'm making good progress on. Things I've thought about but scheduled for later. Things I'm not doing well on.

Pay off my car by May. Possible, but not very likely. End of June should happen though.
Buy Gameboy a new car before his current car dies. No luck. Also why my car won't be paid off next month.
Work Roth IRA's into our 80/20 plan. Kinda. 8% of my 80% goes towards my Roth IRA. I want something a little more concrete for both of us- see below.
Also convince Gameboy that we should both be doing Roths. Haven't started this one yet. Wanted to get my car paid off first.
Get to know one of my neighbors. It's still snowing. I'll work on this once it's nice outside.
Give more. I've donated more than I usually do at this time of the year. I've also found an organization I think I want to volunteer with regularly.
Figure out a better work life balance. Getting there. I only check my work email from home twice a day (once before, once after). I also have a better feel for when things are going to get crazy.
Reduce the knitting stash. Umm... this would involve not buying more yarn. Which I haven't been doing. I blame all the new babies that need hats from baby yarn, that's most of the yarn purchases. I have found a use for 3-4 foot pieces of yarn that I got from freecycle a while back.
Join/serve on a nonprofit board. This will be a summer/fall activity.
Move 10 minutes each day. This can be strength, aerobics, yoga, whatever. Until my around birthday I was great. He got sick, I got sick, work deadline, helping dad move, his car situation. Not good reasons to ignore my health. I started up again yesterday.
Grow my own food (well some of it) this summer. Seedlings started! Materials for a raised bed mostly purchased. If nothing else there will be veggies this summer.

I'll update networth once all of my transfers go through.

Trip Planning

I'm planning my next trip and I'm so excited I can barely handle it. I love going new places and revisiting the old places. During undergrad and at my first 'real' job I averaged 4-7 flights and a few smaller trips in between each year.

Moving west has significantly impaired my traveling lifestyle. No cheap east coast flights to Europe/the Carribean. The 2-3 hour drive to other cities/the beach is also gone. These things call responsiblities also seem to get in the way. This other not so fun thing called debt is also cramping my stlye.

The inspiration for the trip is my little cousin's graduation. She is number 3 on my list (after my husband and mom) of favorite people so there's no way I would miss her getting those fancy pieces of paper. On my mom's side of the family graduations & weddings tend to be the family reunions. The last 3 weddings (including mine) have been elopements and my undergrad graduation big get together.

I'll be seeing: the graduation girl, my mom, 2-3 aunts, 1-2 uncles, 4+ cousins, and whoever else decides to show up. Since I'm making the trip east I'm also working in my best girlfriends, a few old coworkers, the people I like from high school, and my second moms.

This is going to be a 3 city 10 day trip with lots of spending. I'm still working out the details but I'm thinking somewhere around $1,500 from my personal 'whatever' account. The breakdown:

Airfare: $325
Bus/Train fare: $150
Food & Alcohol: $500
Entertainment: $250
Clothing: $100
Rental Car (?): $100
Subway/Taxis: $75

Food and getting around are the biggest parts of this budget. I'm still trying to work out how I'll be getting between DC-Philly-NYC to see my girlfriends. East Coast folks, please tell me there's been an improvement on the Chinatown bus (or something like it). If I rent a car it will be for a few days in DC/the burbs to ease the demand on my aunt housing us and make seeing folks at the ends of the red/green lines easier. Using the subway/taxis will be my main way of getting around. The food & alcohol is because I like to eat and drink- I'm ready for my favorite mango mojitos, good Thai food, tapas, fake meat galore, and anything else I'm feeling at the moment.

As I solidify my plans I'll have a better idea about getting around between city's and how much I'll actually need to spend. I also need to come up with an amazing graduation gift for my cousin. So far her only request has been me & 2 younger cousins at her house graduation weekend.

My Budget Secret...

I don't have one.

We have a money allocation system (80% of earnings to household, including Roths and 20% for personal spending/savings). I set grocery spending limits and guidelines if we're buying work clothes. We have debt payoff priorities. I comb through our credit card bill monthly for spending trends. But that's about it.

Irregular income + irregular expenses have made a traditional budget too much work. The difference between my husbands base salary and actual earnings last years was more than $25K (his base is not much). Paycheck to paycheck the differences can be mind boggling. New house= new bills. Electric, gas, water, & waste water are the utilities that come to mind. Our house was a foreclosure, so we couldn't ask the previous owner what the bills average. Gasoline prices are all over the place and we have to get to from work.

Even during the low months we earn enough so this isn't really a problem. We pay mortgage, credit card (in full), loans, and then send the extra to our current focus. February was the last month since the move that we didn't have funds for an extra debt payment.

As I get a better feel for our bills I'm thinking about using an accrual system for our bills that vary. We're already doing this for our insurance. Next on the list is our electric/gas bill. Our highest bill was twice as high as our lowest bill. The highest bill also coincides with the low point in our earnings.

Meal Planning-Week 1

Today was moving day for my father in law. I got to watch delivery guys put together furniture and then sit around while the guys loaded a truck with boxes. This gave me the perfect opportunity to pour through a few cookbooks.

I think that each recipe will last 2-3 meals, especially now that I'm back to just one guy in the house. I have five for the week, though other than tomorrow I'm not going to assign food to any certain day. I'm taking baby steps with this meal planning thing.

Sunday- Potato Leek Cheddar Soup w onion focaccia
Pasta Carbonara (w/ Veggie Bacon)
Tortilla Casserole
Pasta w Herbed Ricotta (need basil- may use arugula, chives)
Mushroom Empanadas

I'll let you know how they go- the only thing I've made before is the soup. Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling I may tally the costs associated.

Garden Spending

It's early in the season, but I've already spend some money on what will be my vegetable garden. So far I've just had 2-3 expenses:

Seeds- $15.00
I went in with a group of ladies to buy vegetable seeds. We came up with a list of what we were interested in, one person ordered it all online, and we did an even cost split. The other day we had a seed party where we planeted seeds that need time to germinate and took others home in baggies.

Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse- $8.00
I thought I'd use eggshells, paper towel cores, and other hacks I've seen around the internet. The original plan had been to split the seeds into containers and plant at home. But once they were in some of the seeds were so tiny the lady in charge reccomended planting at her place. The seemed like the easiest way to plant then transport without getting dirt all over my car.

The kit has 72 peat pellets that expand when watered. Netting that will eventually decompose holds it together. Each pellet gets a seed or two and the lid + warm environment provides the humidity to get seeds going. Though it's made of plastic, the outer part of the kit (tray & lid) can be reused for years to come. This was a little less, $6.99 + tax, but I bought a lot of things on this trip and can't don't want to spend the time to figure out tax.

Vermicompost bin- approx $30
I started this project last fall and can't remember exact prices. I used 2 rubbermaid bins, a borrowed drill, and $10 of worms to get started. This project was all start up costs. Shredded newspaper/junk mail with banking info/paper towel cores/cardboard (all already in the house) make their bedding. Our fruit and vegetable scraps are their food. All in all it's been an easy, non smelly process that will reduce costs when I buy soil.

Still to come:
Lumber- $30-50
Nails & such- $20-30
Soil-$20-30

Unexpected Prosper Funds

I have money invested with Prosper and Lending Club- two peer-to-peer lending sites. The loans I've funded at both sites have been successful so far, which is great. Until recently though Prosper had a minimum withdrawal of $25 or $50. So even though I was earning money I couldn't access it.

So imagine my surprise when I logged into Prosper to get an idea of how much was hanging out there and realized that the withdrawal minimum had been lifted. As I'm sure you've already guessed that those funds ($19.76) are on their way to my bank for a brief layover before going towards debt. An additional $5.33 was at Lending Club, so next week we'll be 25.09 closer to our goals.

Prosper is going through a quiet period, so they're not taking any new lenders. Lending Club is taking new lenders. They have a nice referral program where new referred lenders receive $50. If you're interested leave a comment and I'll send a referral.

Meal Planning Month

In general I'm not someone who makes a meal plan. In the past I could get away with it, coming home from work and tossing something together. Other times I'd make a casserole or two and that would be a few meals. But since the new job, house, or housemate (insert whichever) I have not been able to get it together for more than a week or two. Lately I've been eating out too much. That and eating cereal for dinner- a lot. We've also essentially been putting money in the compost bin with vegetables that have gone bad.

So even though I generally don't like meal planning I'm going to see if it will work this month. The goal is 5-6 dinners each week and lunches for work. I'm pulling out cookbooks, visiting blogs, and calling mom to try to get things together, one week at a time. Any recommendations for vegetarian (lacto-ovo) recipes are appreciated. Assuming I can get my act together I'll be posting my weekly plan.

And the new car is

a 2009 Prius.

Though this was not how we wanted to buy a car, we're happy with the outcome.

In a perfect world the old car would have lasted until we had 10-15K saved up for a new one. If we financed anything it would have been less than 10K. Snowball money from my car and our appliances would have sped up the saving process. We would have shopped around more, possibly buying something at auction.

This isn't a perfect world though and stuff happens. Because we have an emergency fund we had the funds to make a down payment. Even though I (we, but the financing is all on me) bought a house last summer, which does ugly things to your credit, my auto score is low/mid 700's. His scores continue to rise and are almost at the 700 mark, a good hundred points since I moved here 2.5 years ago. We also know our finances well enough to know what we can and cannot afford.

Our previous snowball plan was: car, with auto savings going to the 0% appliances; break for yard furniture; saving for a new car; mortgage below PMI; student loan

With current financing (we are shopping the rate) payments start in 1.5 months.
Current plan: my car, auto savings on 0% appliances; pay off Prius; get mortgage below PMI; student loan. Yard furniture may look different this year but that's ok. Our time frame for the Prius is max 2 years.

We are going against the grain in one area of personal finance and with it in another. We added to our debt load. This is bad. But when we looked at our non debt options (3Kish) we'd end up with a car that would not last very long and likely have horrible fuel economy. The extent of our car knowledge is- gas goes here, get the oil changed, window washer fluid goes here, so getting something that would need work was not appealing.

We plan on having this new car (and mine) until they stop running, so even though we financed quite a bit the investment will be worth it over time. Depreciation on Toyota's in general, and Prius's specifically is pretty great. We were down to an 2007 and a few 2009. The difference in sticker price when you look at similar features was $2,500. Since we plan on having it for a while we got the features, color, etc that we liked, rather than get something we didn't like as much for $1,000 less.

For those of you wondering, the other contenders were: Matrix (he felt cramped), Rav4 (wonky seat belts in the back), Corolla (I wanted another utility from the second car), Forester (I don't like AWD). There were a few more early on that I can't remember.

Time for a new car

The shop quote is in and it looks like we'll be buying a new (or new to us) car. According to the mechanic:

$1,000 buys us 4-6 weeks of life
$2,700 fixes the problems that landed the car in the shop

If we were going to try to make the car last another year there's an additional $1,000 worth of work we'd need to put into it. So at almost $4K and more than 200,000 miles on the car we'd rather get something new.

The question is what. I want something that:

• gets decent gas mileage
• is kid friendly
• looks nice enough for the outside sales job he is vying for
• less than $25K, though I'd be happier in the $10-15 range
• can handle snow

The combination of the three makes things interesting. We haven't had kids yet, but like the house it's something on the horizon and we don't want to have to buy something else once we do have them. If they had better gas mileage I'd be all over a crossover. I go back and forth on hybrids- good for earth, but expensive. There's a good chance we'll buy something preowned if we don't do a hybrid or crossover, but then this morning I heard that some new cars are costing less than their preowned versions. Decisions, decisions.

No matter what we're going to need to do some sort of finacing and shake up our financial plans.

All and any car advice is welcome! Going without a car is also not an option. I work 15 miles east of our house, he work 25 miles south. The round trip would take 2-2.5 hours if we try to do it with just one car.

Car Trouble

= Hit to the e-fund.

Sigh.

This morning I was in bed, having a somewhat bizarre dream where I was hanging out with my boss and her new baby, when the phone woke me. In my household calls before 8 AM almost always mean something bad. It was my husband, letting me know he was pulling off of the highway because his car decided it didn't want to go more than 15 mph.

We got a tow from AAA, left the car at a shop, and I drove him to work. We have no idea how much it will cost to fix his car or if we're even going to bother. The plan had been to pay off my car (should happen in the next 2 months) then start saving for one for him. Depending on how much the shop says we may buy now.

There are way too many variables (cost to fix, availability of financing, rates, what to buy) for my liking. I'm crossing my fingers that it is something we can absorb into our monthly expenses and stay on plan. But something tells me it's not going to work that way.

Tax Prep Costs Increasing

If you are someone else is doing your taxes, and like me you haven't gotten this taken care of yet- get going ASAP. H & R block is raising prices next Monday. I think TurboTax's date is at the end of the week. Since we're getting close to the deadline they are raising prices.

So if you've been procrastinating maybe this weekend should be tax weekend.

Spending Priorities

There is a certain amount of money we spend in our day to day lives and first year of home ownership. With everything going on in our economy I've decided to be more purposeful in where my money goes. This isn't general PF talk, looking at what my money is spent on, but literally where my money ends up.

The most important thing to me is to spend money in the places I would like to see weather this storm. When I need to make a purchase my first choice is a local business. I was watching public access the other day (yes, I'm a nerd) and our mayor said something like more than 70% of money spent at local businesses stays in the city. It's like dollars bouncing around in a pin ball machine. I can't find exact numbers, but everything I've read says more money stays in your area if you buy from a local business vs. national chain. So that's great for our local economy.

Then I try to shop within my city limits. I live on the border of my city, between 2 others, in a metro area. Work, volunteering, and life take me all over my city and the surrounding areas. But as much as possible I try to shop in my city. Sales taxes in my city fund the services I use- the libraries, recreation centers, etc. In a round about way they also fund a portion of my salary.

Finally I shop at the areas that are most convenient to my home. If I have a choice between Target near work or Target near home, I choose the one near home. Every once in a while this breaks the city limits rule, but businesses that don't take a lot of resources to reach are also important.

I told a friend about this and she said I'm being a bit neurotic. I acknowledged that it may seem that way, but I have a vested interest in my neighborhood surviving. This spirals upward, encompassing my city, metro area, state, and the US all doing well. Since I'm not in a position to spend lots of money to help the economy thinking about purchases in with this framework helps me feel like I'm doing what little I can for my community.

March Madness, Donation Style

It is mid March, time for spring weather, St. Particks Day and the NCAA basketball tournament. This year Razoo has a competition for nonprofits going on called March Goodness. The game? Who can raise the most donations.

The minimum donation is $10, which won't break the bank for most people. The prizes for your favorite nonprofit:
$10,000 GrantFor the non-profit with the most donor supporters
$3,000 Grant For the non-profit with the 2nd most donor supporters
$2,000 Grant Lucky draw among all the non-profits that have at least 50 donor supporters
$1,000 Grant Lucky draw among all the non-profits that have at least 10 donor supporters

The think I like most is that most of the nonprofits are on the smaller side and probably getting overlooked in this economy. I am still trying to decide where to put my money but will make a few donations before the end of the month. Let me know if you have any favorites!

Go PITT!

The Madoff Mess

Bernard Madoff is headed to court today. He just expected to plead guilty to what amounts to a giant ponzi scheme.* You can't miss him on the news and every newscast talks about the people that lost their life savings.

I think what Mr. Madoff did is horrible. I hope our judicial system punishes him adequately. But isn't the first rule of investing diversification? Aren't we all supposed to be building a balanced portfolio with a mix of asset tpes?

It is horrible that people were swindled. But anytime I see folks complaining that they lost their whole life savings I can't help but thing why was your entire life savings invested with this one person/company?

* In a ponzi scheme investors are promised crazy high returns. The high returns attract more investors. The first investors are paid the crazy returns with funds from the new investors coming in.

Hitting Home

Today the recession and the stimulus both hit a little closer to home.

So far only one person I know (a friend of a friend) had been laid off. I guess my mom (real estate agent) makes two. Today my company's fiscal agent, a large nonprofit, laid off 9 people during a restructuring. One was my main point of contact for a portion of my work.

Earlier in the day I was at a table where organizations discussed how stimulus dollars may make their way down. Their was hope, anticipation of quick turnarounds, and uncertainty what (funds and requirements) they will receive. It seems that the funds relating to my industry have made it to the state level or should be there any day now.

It's a weird juxtaposition.

The staff for my organization are all ok- at least through June when fiscal years end. Though if anything we're probably looking at pay cuts. It also doesn't seem like we'll be receiving any stimulus funds, at least not directly.

The Rec

Before we moved I had an on again off again membership with my gym. I used it enough that I felt I got my money's worth, though not enough to be as healthy as I want.

When we were looking at houses I had all sorts of things that went into a matrix- proximity to schools, parks & grocery stores, room for us to grow, and space for a garden are just a few. Nearby gyms did not make the list. When we moved in the only commercial gym was a Curves, which I just wasn't feeling. Anything else is more than a 20 minute drive, which means I wouldn't go. I work downtown and everything I've looked at in that vicinity is more than I'm willing to pay (we're talking $60-120/month). I have figured out some things to do from home but I like machines that can give me stats.

The solution? Our local recreation centers. Growing up the rec center was a place to go swimming or keep out of trouble, but not really a gym. In my new city most of the rec centers have standard gym machines (treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, weights, etc). There are two within 15 minutes of our house and more across the city. The even better part- it's around $13/month when you buy three months at a time.

The main downside is that they are closed on Sundays. My friend's solution- Sundays are to get out and explore the trails just outside the city.

Monthly Progress

Debt payoff progress- the short and sweet version.

Percent paid off:
Car Loan- Up 7%
Lowes Card- Up 17%
End of PMI- Up 1%
Student Loan- Up 1%

I'm still trying to decide what to do about the 2008 Roth IRA money. If you have a favorite fund let me know.

Short Month Alert

February is always a short month, but this year it snuck up on me. This is probably because I'm handling my finances a little differently than in the past. Usually in the late 20's of a month (27th-29th) I schedule transfers for a few bills due early the next month. But this month that's not enough time for money to move between my brick & mortar/ING/payees. This morning I took 10 minutes to do the transfers and all is well. Good thing I realized when I did.

Dear Camera Charger

Where are you? I have pictures to take- brand new babies, closet pics for mom, and some worm poo for an upcoming post. It's been a while so I'll say uncle. Please show yourself.

My shopping problem

So I have this thing when it comes to shopping. I walk into a store, look around and immediately I'm drawn to the most expensive thing. Especially when there are no price tags. Shoes, furniture, clothing- anything. This can make shopping hard.

After yesterday's post I decided to look at some outdoor furniture online. I started with the big box places, asked some coworkers, and went to main sites of manufacturers I liked from the first two. I have fallen in love with a piece for our front porch. When I showed Gameboy he instantly started oohhing and ahhhing. You can see that this is leading to a problem right? The outdoor love seat that would be incredibe for the front porch, plus cushions but minus shipping is almost $2200.

I'm sure it's high quality that will last forever. And I subscribe to the buying quality pieces that will last side of frugality. But that's more than half of what our appliances cost. For one (oh so beautiful) love seat.

So if you have any reccomendations for affordable outdoor furniture I am all ears.

Debt Payoff Celebration

As we get closer to paying off our car loan (less than 3K left!) I’ve been thinking about ways to celebrate. The thing that keeps floating to the top of my mind is backyard décor. When we moved in we were focused on things like moving costs, getting vents cleaned, appliances delivered, internet set up, and such that we didn’t really do anything buy haphazardly water our backyard*.

My short list includes a grill that cannot fit on top of a table, a table/chair set, and some additional chairs. It may or may not expand as I explore a bit more.

The plan (depending on his commissions and how much I work outside of work) is to have the car paid off in April or May. The next month instead of snowballing our next goal (saving for a car for Gameboy) the money $325 car payment and extra money goes towards back yard stuff.
We’ll still research and buy the highest quality within our budget. But this way we get a fun brake from the serious and make our home a bit cozier. I still need to discuss this with Gameboy but I think he’ll agree.

*We didn’t get the replacement part for the sprinkler until September. Then we realized it was even more broken. On the sprinkler guys recommendation we’re waiting until spring. So we used a hose end attachment (when we remembered) during the last months of summer.

Urgent Care...

how I love thee.

So I don't know how I missed out on the beauty of urgent care for so much of my life. Maybe it has to do with growing up on an HMO and never really having to do more than call a number and ask where to go. Whatever the reason I have found and we have used urgent care 3 times in the past year.

For those of you who aren't familiar, urgent care is like an after hours, walk in doctor office. Price ranges based on your insurance, but in our cases it's been just $5-15 more than a regular appointment. That may not seem like a bargain, but when you consider that it's significantly cheaper than the ER it's worth it. Urgent care is also helpful when you can't or don't want to take off work for a relatively simple appointment. I'm not advocating doing away with your regular doctor. Having a regular practitioner is important, but the ease of urgent care has thrilled me.

Here's an example. A few months ago Gameboy joined a new (very expensive) exercise program. On day two he discovered that the childhood asthma he though was long gone had become exercise induced asthma. He left class early and after a break slowly drove home. His work schedule has little flexibility and that week he had wall to wall meetings so taking time off to see a doctor was not really feasable. Still I made a few calls and no one could see him for 3-4 days. When he got home I said we should check out the urgent care place that's in our town center. He was seen within 15 minutes, got a full workup, and left with exercise instructions and an inhaler.

This week we made another trip in the hopes of discovering what Gameboy's mystery illness(es) are. For $45 we ruled out a few illnesses, and got two perscriptions. He's still sick, but looks human again.

Garden- Starting Off & Seeds

If you're anything like me, at this time of the year you're itching for winter to end. For the past month I've been daydreaming about our backyard once the weather warms up- cook outs, lemonade plus a good book, and a vegetable garden.

Really, I've been daydreaming about the vegetable garden for more than 2 years. Enough space for a least a small raised bed was on the 'must have' list during the house hunt. The back of the house faces south,* so with the exception of some fence shading it should be a good location. Unfortunately, by the time we moved in last summer it was too late for a real garden. I did a few container plants but only the cherry tomatoes were able to produce anything before our relatively short growing season ended.

I'm going to do my best to track the costs and production of the garden as I go along. There will be some extra expense this first year to get things up and running. I'm planning on raised beds which need to be bought or built (after buying materials). Currently I'm budgeting $100 for that portion of the project. Then there's fill dirt/compost/moss/whatever else I decide. Last fall I started composting with worms to help lessen that expense. Finally there are seeds.

Whenever I've bought seed packets (usually for herbs) I end up feeling very wasteful. I plant at most 10 seeds and the rest sit around in a drawer somewhere. I don't know if it's just not cost effective to sell them in smaller quantities but we're talking crazy amounts of seeds. So imagine my delight when someone on my favorite yahoo group* suggested buying seeds together. This way we each get a reasonable amount of seeds at a lower cost.

We're still getting our order together, but I'll post my final cost with a list of what I'm buying. So far it's looking like cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, and melon. I have never (with the exception of those tomatoes) grown more than a few herbs- making this summer a bit of an adventure. Any green thumb advice is very welcome!

*which makes winter shoveling oh so fun
** the source of my most frequent babysitting clients, a recent extra earning opportunity, and random advice

Random Thoughts

I don't know where this week has gone, but here are a few random thoughts:

More than 1 radio station in a market should not be able to do a fund drive at the same time.

Fund drives for children's hospitals + driving = bad. Otherwise known as crying + driving= bad.

I had very little to listen to this week.

I miss traveling.

It amazes me how quickly I can make a paycheck disappear (this includes saving).

I'm not big on holidays (including tomorrow) with the exception of Thanksgiving.

I love pictures.

Ending the Firefight

My work is entirely grant based. Currently the things funding me and my day to day are: a federal block grant via a state nonprofit, state funding, a local tax initiative, and a state foundation. In a way this means I have 5 bosses and 4 work plans. And for the most part that's fine. That's how thing happen in my industry and I knew that walking in.

The problem is that for most of my 5 month tenure I've been fire fighting. Instead of doing work at a planned & steady pace I'm jumping through hoops to meet/anticipate 1 deadline or crazy request after another. A big part of this is that during the first 3 months of the grant years my position was empty. I knew there would be a bit of a learning curve but it has been steep. I'm playing catch up in all areas, doing the things that have to be done by a certain time and other things fall by the wayside.

In the 2-5 day down periods I have between the craziness (if I'm so lucky)I've been doing a bit of work dreaming. Not the I wish I made $100K a year kind, but what I want my accomplishments to look like and how I can get there. Step one, after I put out the current fire(s), is to create a year long plan. This will outline what I have to do month to month, when grant reapplication deadlines are (my director & I missed one a few weeks ago because we just didn't know), events where I want to participate, when reports are due, and time lines for some of our bigger programs.

This is where I got to before leaving for a meeting Friday morning...

In addition to the outline I am trying to set up a few shadow visits. There are 15 other agencies funded by one of my grants. Some of my colleagues at other agencies have been in the field longer than I have been alive. I know there are advantages that my relative youth brings to the job, but I'm also a big believer in learning from those with experience.

All of this ties back to one of my goals for the year- finding a work life balance. I was doing pretty well the first two weeks, despite 2 big deadlines. Deadlines 3-6, the work training I'm attending on Saturdays,* and my directors impending maternity leave have left be very unbalanced. My one quasi solace is that I'm not the only one feeling this way. I was meeting with our other program manager the other day and one of the first things she said to me was "I feel like all I do anymore is put out fires." In two weeks I hope to get this all under control and get started on my strategies.

*theoretically I'm taking 1 comp day a week to make up- to bad I'm needing 45 hours to get the regular work done. I'm keeping good notes and will eventually take the time

Credit Age

Crazy busy week but this was fun. My credit age is more than 15 years older than my real age!

I am 43
in credit years!

Credit Age Quiz by SpendOnLife.com

Roth Decisions

Right now my 2008 and 2009 Roth savings are in limbo. Why? Because I can't make up my mind.

First, there's money I saved during 2008. I saved in an ING sub account because I thought I might want to invest in a new fund*. Most of the funds I've looked at require $2.5-3K for the initial investment. Since I didn't have that in January I decided to save and make a decision when I had enough money. I crossed over $3,000 in December but the decision is yet to be made. I know stocks are on sale and I have 30+ years for growth, but looking at performance (my main tool) is hard when just about all negative. I feel like I may as well be picking out of a hat.

Then there's the 2009 question. I only have $3,184 saved for 2008. Between January 1 and tax day (actual filing or April 15th, whichever is sooner) you can still contribute to the prior years Roth IRA. So, the funds we allocate to my Roth (8% of my salary) could go be 2008 or 2009 funds. By April I still wouldn't hit the 2008 limit. As a result (baring a major windfall) my amount for 2009 would be piddly. But that's just vanity getting in the way right?

Where are your Roth funds invested?

*My 2006 IRA is in a Vanguard Retirement Year fund but I think I want to branch out more.

I love my banker

Until I moved in with Gameboy I would have never said I had a banker. Now I can't imagine it another way. Gameboy and BankLady became friends before I moved out here. When he was in the mortgage industry they sent buisness their respective companies weren't interested in back and forth.

So anyway, after I wrote Monday's post I sent her an email explaining what happened. Tuesday morning I got a call at 10. The fees are reversed and overdraft protection is set up. After a 2 minute email and 4 minute call problem solved. No horrendus hold music, no sitting at my local branch for 25 minutes, 6 easy minutes. So thank you BankLady!

Pure Stupidity

This month I did something so stupid that I can hardly believe myself.

A little back story: I pay all of the household bills and do all of the money shuffling*. The first week or so of the month I usually sit down and pay/schedule payments for the household card, my card, car, set aside funds for electric/gas and water, do our self escrows and send an extra debt reduction payment. At this time I also review all of our bills that auto pay on the house card to make sure nothing crazy is happening.

So late last week I log onto our bank account just because. I'm totally shocked to see more than $1000 just hanging out in our checking, something I never let happen. I check the recent debits- all of the ING transfers look good, household card went through, but there is no payment to my personal card. By now it's past the 20th and this bill is due between the 12th and 15th each month.

I immediately log in to the card site to see if the bank maybe made an error (very wishful thinking). I swear I logged onto the credit card site and made the payment, but there's not electronic log of the payments. So for no good reason I just had a late payment hit my credit report. I called and immediately made the payment by phone and got them to cut the late fee in half. I tried to get them to cut all of it but it was not happening.

To make things extra fun, apparently my bank account doesn't have overdraft protection. I could swear we set this up with our savings accounts at the same bank. But that credit card payment and an auto savings feature hit on the same day, overdrawing my account. I actually thing this is a bit comical and have emailed our banker to look into it. She's pretty good at working things out so I'm hoping the fees will get waived.

*This is largely making sure money is in the right place to pay the right bills. We have a brick and mortar for 3/4 and pay a few other things with ING.

Car Milestone

We're slowly but surely paying down the car. Every time we cross another thousand mark I have a little celebration in my head and think about ways to make more money. There really is something a bit addictive about watching those numbers go down.

We started the year just under the $5,000 mark and as of today we're at $3903.06. The goal of having it paid off by May definitely seems to be within our reach. That day will be one of full celebration as our first bit of debt hits 0.

Per my self imposed rule the side bar won't be updated until the end of the month.

Enjoying History

I'm watching the pomp and circumstance of the morning. A big part of me is missing home (DC & the burbs) and the excitement that is surely in the air. I'll be enjoying things from the comfort of our couch before heading to work.

The regular PF blogging will resume tomorrow.

New Earning Opportunity

I recently fell into a new opportunity that I'm pretty excited about. One of our local museums has a research program that requires observations, surveys, and focus groups. They posted a call for new people on one of my yahoo groups and I was accepted. I get made fun of for belonging to this group (it's a mom's group and I'm not a mom) but I've gotten so many great opportunities there.

I'm looking forward to spending time at the museum and stretching my research skills. I'm also looking forward to the $18/hr salary. It's not something that's frequent, but it's more than most of my snowflaking opportunities.

Dear Local Radio Stations

Thanks for making a possibly frustrating morning great. I left the house at 8:35. I stopped at a McDonald's, I'll be generous and say this was 10 minutes. I pulled into a work garage at 10:22.

Despite the 90+ min commute I'm in a great mood because local radio stations, you rocked it. I got do dance to some of my favorite songs (easy to do when you're going 0 miles per hour), learned a little about the issues minorities are having in Germany, and all sorts of other randomness. All for free. So thanks!

sara l

This and that

I have a big mouth sometimes. I find myself volunteering information or for things without full details. This can be bad. The most recent case of this means I will be in a training 7 hours a day for the next 8 Saturdays. Yeah. On the plus side I get to take off a day during the week, though I don't know how I'll find the time. I'll also eventually be a trainer for this training, which pays $27/hr this year.

Babies are weighing heavily on my mind. My best friend in the city, my boss, and 3/4 of Gameboy's local friends that don't already have kids plus half of my long distance friends are pregnant. I fell like I should buy baby yarn in bulk and just continually make hats and booties. We plan to wait at least another year but the peer pressure is on full force. I've literally had 2-3 women all try to convince me that now is a great time because our kids could be the same age. Instead of saying yes I've been focused on getting the financial house in order and trying to set us up for happy financial times. I've been looking at ways to earn money from home (like the above training) and squeezing the budget in other areas to pay down the debt faster.

I'm also tryingot figure out a summer garden. Last summer we did a few containers when we moved in, but it was really late in the season. This year I want to do a raised bed garden in our yard. I've been trying to figure out where in the yard, what I want to plant, and the best seeds to get. Whenever I start a new project I tend to get a bit obscessive, so most of my reading lately has been about gardening. I'm also trying to figure out what things will do best in our high altitude/desert climate.

It's time to face the snowy commute now. I'm glad I have the option to wear jeans whenever.

Goal Implementation: Work Life Balance

So I'm working on the work life balance. And on Monday I did great! I even told my boss I was going to severely cut back on email from home and she said "Good!" So what has happened since then? My coworkers are dealing with a budget reconciliation that is not going so well. Five months, 2 fiscal years, new accountant, relatively new staff on our side= ugly. We're almost there and finance has extended the deadline by 2 days. Meanwhile I've worked an extra 5 hrs & 40 minutes in the past 2 nights. The fun part is this is in addition to my regular work.

Since there will always be deadline crunches I'm going to work on how I deal with the time. I'm going to start recording my extra time in my planner and actually take the time within 3 weeks. I'm also going to keep my to do list with me most of the time. Most of my "Oh crap, I need to...." moments happen in the car or at 9:30 on the couch. Then I get online and spend time working. Instead I'm going to add it to my to do list and deal with it the next day.

I'll check in later with progress. It's nice to have the support of my boss while I make these changes though.

Medicine by Mail

I decided to start the new year off by saving a bit of money. I have a daily prescription that costs $10 every 4 weeks. Over the course of the year that is around $130. There's also remembering the monthly drive to the pharmacy, which is only open 8-6 M-F.

The less expensive option? Prescriptions by mail. I called my HMO this morning to the the details. They essentially cut 1 copay off of 3 months of medicine, so I get a 3 month supply for $20. They also pay for shipping. Best of all it comes right to my door mailbox down the street.

So instead of $130, I'll be paying around between $80-100, depending on when my current fill runs out. To make my savings a little deeper I'll be paying with pre-tax dollars via my FSA.

So how can you look to save a little on prescriptions? If you have an HMO that requires you using specific pharmacies give them a call to see if they have a mail option. If you have a PPO (or something like it) call the pharmacy line on your insurance card. Ask those lovely people if there is a mail option. Also ask wherever you get your prescriptions. It seems like Walgreen's has a prescription mail option if you register on their site.

Enjoy the savings!

Thinking about the new year

I've never been one for resolutions. The few time's I've done them I've fallen in with the majority of the population that ends up breaking them by April. This year I'm going to work on goals. Some are financial, some are career related, and some are personal.

Pay off my car by May.

Buy Gameboy a new car before his current car dies.

Work Roth IRA's into our 80/20 plan. Also convince Gameboy that we should both be doing Roths.

Get to know one of my neighbors.

Give more.

Figure out a better work life balance.

Reduce the knitting stash.

Join/serve on a nonprofit board.

Move 10 minutes each day. This can be strength, aerobics, yoga, whatever.

Grow my own food (well some of it) this summer.

I could keep going but that is more than enough to start with. Anything major you're working on in the new year?

Self Escrow

Between the house and 2 cars we pay a lot in taxes. Usually we can work the payments into our monthly finances, but I don't want to have to worry if we have a bad month. So I think the best thing for us to do is a bit of self escrow.

When we bought the house we had the option of having them escrow our home owners insurance. Instead of us paying once a year the mortgage company would add the total amount due per year divided by 12 to our monthly payment. We decided not to have them escrow because we'd rather have our funds grow (with interest) in our own accounts.

The flaw in our plan? We forgot to start saving. We paid for six months of car insurance this month so it seems like this is as good a time as any to start. I renamed one of our ING accounts insurance and plan to start working our self escrow amount into our January finances. I haven't decided if it will be a monthly or a biweekly thing but the money will be put aside for the three payments we have in 2009. At least mostly. Our payments are due in June, July, & December, so in July we won't have the full home insurance payment, but it will be close enough.

The formula looks like this:

Annual home owners + 6 months car insurance x 2
12

So each month we're saving money for our appliances, insurance and retirement. After that and bills everything will go towards paying off the car loan.

Wrapping it up

So the presents are bought. I've yet to figure out wrapping, but that's ok because Gameboy believes that wrapping paper is only for children. He tends to use random boxes and or plastic bags that we have around the house. If you ask him he'd say because it's cheap, not green. I say it's because he's lazy, but no matter what the environment & our budget benefits. I tend to be a bit more creative, but still avoiding the paper. One year he got a folded hoodie that had goodies in the pocket, hood, and sleves.

Though I still need to figure out wrapping, I am in the mood to put super cute bows all over whatever I do. All you need are a few brads*, some magazine pages, scissors, and maybe a hole punch. If you have poor cutting skills like I do a pencil and ruler will also help.

The basics:

1. Cut your paper into 9, 3/4 to 1 inche strips.
2. Twist paper like you're making a ribbon for your lapel. You want the end of the strip and the middle of the strip on top of each other.
3. Repeat with the other end.
4. Hole punch (or carefully poke holes with scissors) through all three layers and slip the brad through.
5. Repeat until you have used all of the strips.
   

For a picture tutorial head over to A Heart for Home, where I learned about this fun.

*These are the fasteners you use on paper dolls. Round dot on top with two straight parts that start off together and split once you make the hole.

A bit of coming clean

This is a partial update because I haven't updated my monthly spreadsheet. But I looked at my personal net worth sheet and Networth IQ and realized a bit of a discrepancy. When we bought the house we got a no interest bridge loan from mom at the last minute. The loan program we'd chosen originally had an 8% deposit requirement. We could handle 8% and worked everything out. Due to all of the loan craziness happening in the mortgage industry it moved to 10% 1.5 weeks before we signed papers. So the bank of mom transferred me some money so that we could pay the downpayment and not decimate our savings just beforem moving.

Since then we've tried to repay some of the money with little success. I transfered her some of the money (love joint accounts on ING) and she transfered it back saying to use it on student loans*. She does not want to be paid back until we've paid off my car and figured out what we're going to be doing about Gameboy's car. Really she wants us to prioritize money we owe to folks who are charging interest.

The other part of that is our appliances. There were none when we moved into the house. So we did a bit of shopping. Usually I'm not a big fan of store cards, but since we were spending around $5K we decided to do a 1 year 0% offer. If we needed to we could pay it off today (savings for the card, efund, other savings) but we'd rather have the money working (albeit slooowly) for us than for Lowes. I may get a sidebar going for that in the near future.

I can't remember why I didn't add them to the tally back in July but they're they're now and reflecting a much more accurate picture of my finances.

*She feels like as a parent this is her responsibility and tries to help out when she can.

Giving

Yesterday I wrote about giving for gifts. Today I'm writing about general giving. I should probably start by saying that with the exception of one summer as a temp and a year of high school retail every organization that I've ever worked for has been a .org or a .edu. Federal & state budgets, paired with donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses have paid for 95% of the money I've earned in my lifetime, allowing me to help others while working.

When I got the new job I decided that the difference between my new and old salary would be donated. However due to my procrastination it hasn't happened. This weekend I'm planning on sending the money. Where you ask?

Heifer International- Yesterday I wrote about why I love them.

Reading is Fundamental- In a sentence- free books for children to inspire a love of reading. I have always been a reader. I was the kid hanging out of bed reading by nightlight after lights out. So getting free books from school a few times a year was awesome! As an adult I've gotten to volunteer at RIF distributions and the looks on kids faces are always precious. For any parents reading they also have some great literacy and pre-literacy games for kids on the sight.

United Way- My local chapter is working on School Readiness, Youth Success, and Adult Self Sufficiency. We partner with them for some of my current work and I volunteer with one of their sub organizations, so I get to see the great work they are doing.

That is the love list for the moment. I may throw in a local food bank because of the current economic situations. If you don't have a love list of your own visit Charity Navigator. They give charities start ratings based on their tax info to give you a bit more insight. Also, on this page you can put in the search criteria that matter to you, including looking for programs in your zip code.

In addition to the feel good factor giving back can have financial benefits as well. If you are claiming more than the standard deduction, donating money can save you on taxes. In the past, filing as a single person with no property or anything special going on, I've never passed the standard deduction. This year with the house and student loan stuff I think we'll be crossing that threshold.

Do you have any favorite places to donate?

Sigh of Releif & Help

In my thankful post I mentioned having a job I love 95% of the time. What I didn't say was I love having great coworkers. We are a small group- our director, 2 program managers, and 2 assistants. In our grant driven world this time of year can be challenging, so the unexpected deadline we received 9 days ago was a lot to manage. We hit our goal a few hours to spare yesterday.

Now the help- holiday party with friends. The host is making chili and cornbread. She has also baked a ridiculous amount of cookies. Everyone else is supposed bring something but I have no clue. Usually I would have spent the past few evening looking for recipes, but that work thing got in the way. So does anyone have any great recipes that are not super hard?

Giving to Help Others

This is the time of year for giving and this usually extends to nonprofit organizations. Many nonprofits are feeling the slowdown in the economy. So giving to an organization that someone supports may be a great gift option. As time winds down this holiday season

Donation in someone's name- I'm thinking about getting some chicks through Heifer Int'l for my mom. Families in need around the world (and including parts of the US) receive animals appropriate for their area that can provide nutritional sustenance and/or financial opportunity with the ultimate goal of self reliance. After some time the recipient has to help their neighbors with a gift of animals, usually offspring of the original offspring. My mom's home country is on the list of countries served by this organization (though you can't designate where your money will go) and I think she would prefer this to a scarf.

Gift Cards- A newer option is gift cards for giving. The beauty of this is the recepient get's to choose where their money goes. I really like this idea to get kids interested and involved in giving. Some send actual plastic where others do online cards/emails. Looking around today I found: The Good Card, Tis Best, Charity Gift Certificates and JustGive. I haven't used any of these organizations myself, so you may want to do a quick search for reviews. The other caveat is to check out the fees because each organization charges a fee* of some sort, like most gift cards.

Buy from nonprofits- To increase their ability to bring in funds many nonprofits also produce products. A few things that come to mind are: cards from children's hospitals and Ten Thousand Villages. The other half of my mom's gift is going to be something from The Women's Bean Project. They work on breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment, by providing jobs coupled with life skills training. In the process they produce soup, bread and cookie mixes that I've heard rave reviews about.

Whichever you choose add a little note about the good the gift can do in your town, state, or the world. I wouldn't give gifts because of this, but an added benefit is a tax deductions for the first two options for the gift giver.

*These pay for the staff, website, and other operational costs to offer the program.

Around the House

On the plus side- our closet is done! Well 90%, but close enough for me. Our house was a foreclosure and the previous owners took all sorts of random stuff, including the rods & shelves in the (custom) master closet, the garage door opener, and the pantry shelves. We've been doing things as we can afford them instead of relying on credit cards. I'm still working on getting my clothing into the closet but am enjoying the thought of not having to pull on sweats so I can walk down the hall to another closet and then get dressed.

On the down side we've just realized a crack in the window in Gamedad's room. It's been too cold for plastic, so we made a ghetto fix with some packing tape and old curtains I got from freecycle a while back. So far it seems to be working and his room is the average upstairs temp- for some reason our house seems to defy science. You know that old addage, heat rises? Not in our house. Our upstairs is between 5-7 degree's colder than downstairs.

I'm finishing up my work for the day. The day started with emails at 7:15 and didn't stop. orward to January when 80% of the crazy will be over. Usually this would be really overwhelming. The thing that's keeping me going were a few words at work.

A bit of back story- I work for a council with a staff of 5. We sit in two different locations b/c neither has room for all of us, but both are free. The council's chair leads the office where I sit. Her deputy is a nice guy who is very focused and whose main interaction with me has revolved around closing the blinds at night. Today he walked up to me and said I've been hearing good things about your work from the council.

It seriously made my day. This was especially great because our entire staff is under deadline (4 to be exact) and frenzied. It gave me the charge to lead my evening, be the queen of spreadsheets, and otherwise keep working tonight.

Work Fun

It looks like it's going to be one of those weeks. Yesterday we got a letter from a one of our main funders. It went something like: Since you didn't meet a crazy deadline (that your director's predecessor created with no basis) 6 weeks ago (while I was on maternity leave) we will start retracting your funding (the basis of my annual salary) if you don't meet crazier deadline in 1 week.

So for the next week it looks like I'll be back to at least 12 hour days for the next week. At minimum. We're pulling one of the assistants off of another project with a deadline 1 week later, so I'll probably be pitching in so the other program manager meet her deadlines.

On the plus side I get to meet 25 or so people my organizations just gave scholarships to later this week. I just have to figure out what I'll be telling them.

Tires, Part II

Yesterday I wrote about discovering (in the snow) that my tires were bald last Friday.

I'd hurt my back later that night and did not feel like driving all over town to figure things out. I also didn't want to just walk into a random place and be at their mercy. So Saturday morning I camped out on the couch, armed with my phone and laptop. Another added bonus looking back is we save a lot of gas not driving around to get info.

This is probably a good time to say neither Gameboy nor I owned a car before 2006. His family never had a car. I drove my mom's car and occasionally took it in for service, but nothing major. As a woman and as a person who doesn't know much about cars I like to arm myself before dealing with mechanics.

First, I visited Single Ma. A while back she wrote about her last tire buying experience. She explained those mystical numbers on the sides of your tire.

Second stop, a list of the car repair shops within a few miles of out house. I thought up a few then called an oil change place for a few more recommendations. I made a list and called each place (4 total) asking what tires they had in stock (time was of the essence) in my size. I typed notes as I went along.

You know what's next-research! I googled the different tire names, checked out consumer reports, and then I found this gem. There were lots of reviews from customers in addition to little quizzes to help you make a decision. Keep in mind that they do sell tires.

With 2-3 favorites I made a second set of calls. I asked 3 important questions:
1- How much does each tire cost
2- What fees are charged (installation, disposal, balancing, etc)
3- Are there any specials/deals going on.

This information let me know how much I would be paying in total (well plus tax). Number 2 is really important because it can vary so much. Of the 4-5 places I called they ranged from $2.50-18.00 per tire.

Information in hand Gameboy and I conferenced about price and time. We chose a place that would be open on Sunday (it was getting late), had decent fees, and a total price that could work with our budget.

The next day we drove over, let them know what we wanted, and handed over the keys. The service guy handed me the estimate and after a quick review handed it right back. The price was $150 more than I had come up with based on the phone conversations. 2 warranties had appeared and the buy 3, get 1 free deal were not there. I let the guy know all of those things would not work for me and asked for a revised quote, based on reason and reality.

Two hours later my car was back to riding well. Good thing too, because our second storm of the season blew in Wednesday.

New Wheels

No, I didn't take Monday's mini shopping spree to the nth degree. This weekend I literally got new wheels for my car. It went something like this:

Friday evening, leaving a Thanksgiving party, we find 2-3 inches of snow. I think 'I hope I have my scraper and wow would closed shoes be good now' but otherwise keep going. I clean off the car, jump in and slowly pull off. I turn around and gently apply the brakes. Only my car does not stop. It's deserted so I'm not freaking out but little alarm bells are going off.

I don't have my phone so I decide to wait for Gameboy & dad to finish warming the other car* in case something scary happened. Slowly following behind, with a few car lengths between us, we take the two turns (with stop signs) for the main road. This is where I start to freak out.

The snow was beautiful powder. No ice or slush in sight. But I was slipping and sliding every which way. Each stop was taking about a car length more than it should have. Deep breaths, hugging the wheel granny style, and twenty slow minutes (it's a five min drive) I pulled into my driveway. Then I got stuck.

I made the mistake of stopping to pull in the recycling bin. After shoveling out the wheels I pull it into the garage and begin inspection. The tread on the outside looks great (well ok). Then I slide my hand up under the wheel well. Instead of nice deep grooves all I feel is smoothness. We're talking baby's bum smoothness.

Problem identified. Too bad the dealership failed to notice (or maybe mention) the bald tires during my 2 hr visit last week.

Tomorrow I'll tell you how I solved the problem.

E.C. over at Not Living on Ramen was not so lucky this weekend. She was in two accidents in the same night and is recovering. Send some good thoughts and wishes her way.


*I have a tendency to get sick at the host's house (cats) so I went a few hours later.

The Tipping Point

Gameboy-Possible Gift Spoiler Alert

Whenever possible I try to buy local/support local businesses. At times this saves money, but sometimes there can also be an increased cost. The questions is how much more (if anything) are you willing to pay for the local service.

This came about during my gift hunt. I emailed a friend of Gameboy's who owns a gameporium. He knows what Gameboy likes and responded in less than 12 hours to an email asking for suggestions. In a second round of emails he let me know how much the two games are and how many are in stock.

The frugal in me did some googling to see what the going prices are. I can save $13 on one through an Amazon seller and 1 cent locally at the other. That factors in shipping costs, but not tax. Even if both were more I'd get one from him because of the reccomendation and to support a friend.

But if I decide to get both should I get both from him? Or should I save money on the second game online? Each person's answer will probably be a bit different, depending on available resources and what they value most. Another example would be is the local apple worth the extra $1/lb at the farmers market?

Over the next day or so I'll probably puzzle over this and decide which is more important to me at this instance.

December Goals

• Only buy breakfast 3 times, excluding our coffee shop staff meetings.
• Earn $150 in extra income
• Attempt a dry run on our taxes
• Invest the money I've been saving for my Roth IRA
• Figure out giving (some holiday, but mainly for the difference between my paycheck at the old/new jobs)
• Make it to 5 more yoga classes at work
• Spend no more than $250 on groceries

Updated: I forgot a very important one- Working on finding a work home balance. After working from home and because this job is pretty flexible I find myself goofing off a lot during the day and making up for it at home. I need to work this out.

Why I Avoid Shopping

I'm pretty good on the day to day shopping. I can get in and out of most grocery stores and Target with just the things I planned on buying (or remembered that I need-the problem with lists in your head). Usually I just avoid other shopping, though I have decent restraint.

Yesterday I decided to see if there was anything worth it for cyber-Monday. I looked at TV's. I looked at kitchen tables. I found a great deal on 2 seasons on Gameboy's favorite show. I found another item I wanted to buy him. And then I found this...



In my defense I did not go searching. It's like the evil folks on the other end of things knew that I've been wanting one of these for 2 years. At the old place our kitchen was too small though. And they're expensive. To make the situation a bit weirder the night before I told my mom that I didn't think the mixer was a good wedding present b/c Gameboy wouldn't really use it. The grill (or part of a grill) would be a better present for us as a couple.

Most days I could have walked away. In fact I did, twice. But we're talking $140 below sticker price (after $20 rebate) with free shipping. Then I mentioned (or maybe re-mentioned) it to my enabler husband.

Though we don't NEED it he knows I've wanted one for some time. He mentioned the price being right. I hemmed and hawed, meanwhile thinking about all of the lovely things I could make. Then he said we can easily afford it and told me to click buy.

Cyber Monday

Has anyone besides me had a hard time getting back into the swing of things today?(as evidenced by not 1 but 2 posts this afternoon)
.
Or spent way too much time looking for cyber Monday deals?
.
Just wondering if I'm the only slacker.

Updates

I never got around to setting November goals. I was putting a lot of time into the Obama campaign and then we had the car issues that took a while to resolve. There were also the blah's (lack of motivation) that I mentioned yesterday.

Somehow despite all of the craziness it was a really good month. Gameboy's industry seems to be doing well* so his commissions really helped. Our spending (ie credit card bill) has been pretty low over the last two months, leaving a lot of room for saving and debt payment.

Most exciting: Emergency fund=100% Eventually we will bring this up. It's 2-3 months of bills or up to a medium catastrophe. Once we get out debts paid down we will work on a 6-8 month fund.

Once the emergency fund was complete we shifted attention to the car. In the past months there was some disagreement over where extra funds should go. In October we made an agreement and I think the shared focus has really helped. We sent 2 principal only checks in this month. October's check was also finally cashed. It all came to $3,360.

My student loan** and the end of PMI (mortgage insurance) percentages continue increase at the speed of molasses in the winter. If anything it's a good indicator of why I never want to just make minimum payments.

Next month won't be nearly so exciting. We'll be paying off some medical stuff from last year that we were waiting to hit their internal collections (on purpose). That craziness is another story for another day. Suffice to say the majority of our extra money will be headed there.

The most important thing is it feels like we're finally getting somewhere.

*knock on wood and fingers crossed
**if you're paying close attention to the sidebars it looks like student loans jumped 4.5%. There was an error in my spreadsheet math that I discovered this weekend.

Personal Coupons

Gameboy- Gift Spoiler Alert

I always love the idea of personal coupons/certificates as gifts. In general I prefer to give experiences than stuff. I also look at it as a way to spread the feeling of the holidays throughout the year. That said-I've never done them. This is mainly because I a)procrastinate and b) I get a bit type A about gifts.

The key is getting something that the person you have in mind would really like. A few generic (but nice) ideas are a nice dinner (in or out), a fully prepared picnic, a massage, and doing their chores. For kids some ideas are a day at the zoo, doing their favorite activity, a day off of chores, or being able to stay up late. I try to think of things that I'm not likely to do on a day to day basis or would make life easier for the other person.

This year I'm planning on pairing coupons with the things I'm buying for Gameboy's Christmas and birthday presents. So far 'stuff' wise I'm planning on DVD's of his favorite show or a few movies he loved this year. He loves playing games of all sorts (hence the name) so I'm also thinking about getting a few board games. Another item on my list is gear for me for his favorite team.*

To go with those gifts I'm thinking about coupons making coupons for the following. I'm still working on better names.
'Watch any movie you would like' (2-3)
'Game day' (a whole weekend day of games)
'Game night' (inviting friends over, I'll do the extra cleaning I'd ususaly make him do and make something yummy)
'Sunday Pass' (gametime treats & watching the whole game with him)
'Sunday Pass 2' (taking in the game at the bar of his choice, I'll pick up the tab)
'Bake-off' (I'll make one of his favorite treats, ususally reserved for specical occasions)

For some these may sound weird but they are things I know he would really enjoy. Most of the things I've come up with won't cost me anything. The things with an associated cost will be stretched over the coming months, also making holiday spending easier.

To make the certificates look nice I'm planning on using:
clip art/logos around the text
colored paper
a hole punch and ribbon/yarn to hold it together

*He's mentioned that he would like me to be able to dress up with him for games.

The Blahs

I've got a case of the blahs. I'm pretty happy but lacking all motivation. My snowflakes sidebar is indicative of this. Outside of June/July when I had jury duty, we were moving Gamedad to live with us, and buying our house it's been a while since I made the little money.

It all boils down to a lack of effort. The 3 babysitting jobs were all parents calling me. Usually I have one or two calls, but I actively put myself out there, looking for jobs. Everything else is money that automatically comes in or based on work in October.

I need to slowly ease back into earning the extra income. But honestly, I have no clue how at the moment.

Do You Black Friday?

Only once in my life have I been shopping on Black Friday before the sun came up. It was last year while I was working with a camera crew on one of the college football games, so really I was paid to shop...and that's why I avoid it.

I don't have a long list of people to buy for and my guys are pretty quirky. I looked through the fliers and didn't see anything that would make me leave my house when it was still dark. Well I saw a few things (read 40" flat screen for our room), but nothing that I should actually buy.

I'm not a morning person. I don't like the cold, especially standing around in it. And with every year I become a bit more like my mother. She hates crowds and avoids them as much as possible. I still love a great concert, but I can't handle crowds at the stores. Last year's experience confirmed what I have thought for the past few years- it's just not worth it to me.

I get caught up in the frenzy and spend money I otherwise wouldn't have. So I'll loose out on a few deals but save more money in the long run.

Have you been able to make Black Friday work for you?

Thanks!

In no particular order, some of the many things I'm thankful for:

the two people on earth that love me more than anything (Gameboy & Mom)
my crazy extended family
sunshine
the people that listen to me whine (otherwise known as my friends)
everyone who reads my blog
bloggers who keep me entertained and help me learn
a job I love 95% of the time
my experiences traveling
$1.64 gas
the internet
my house
the library

Hope you had a great day with people you are thankful for!

Mix tape!

Though I've been thinking about holiday gifts since mid October I've yet to take the plunge and you know, buy anything. I have a list of things I want to get for the husband and no clue on my father in law. What I'd planned for my girlfriends is still in the conceptual stages. Despite the failings to act in my personal life I have all sorts of ideas that I'll be sharing as we get closer to the holidays.

Mix tape
As a kid I remember thinking about the mix tape that a future boyfriend would make me. By the time I got to the dating age we were in the age of mixed CD's. The point thought is a mix of music that makes you think or someone or that you think someone would enjoy. When Gameboy and I were long distance I made a mix of what I listened to every night when we were on the phone.

If you want to take the mix tape/CD up a notch make a CD booklet. Lyrics, why that song makes you think of that person, and/or pictures special to you and the giftee make the mix CD extra special. Word art in Word makes this a bit more fun also.

So far Gameboy has gotten two (I've named them Vol I, Vol II) of these as Xmas/birthday presents. Out of all the gifts both years this has been his favorite because it's personal.

Gameshow Groceries

Grocery shopping is my household chore. Sometimes, even thought I'm happy to do it, getting out the door is hard. Yesterday was one of those days. A few weeks back Gamedad but a lot of unread newspapers in a big box and put it upstairs. This included the coupon circulars. So after procrastinating all day I sat down to weed through the box, separating circulars, newspaper for the worms, and the random glossy stuff for the recycling bin.

When I finally left for the store it was a little after 10. I didn't think much of it b/c the store closest to my home and the stores near our old place are all open 24 hours. Too bad I wasn't going to any of those stores... I walk in and it's blissfully empty, but there are boxes out for restocking here and there. No worries. I go through the produce section, mentally checking off my list. As I round the corner to get cereal the lights go off. Not totally dark, but to the overnight lights many business have. I realize I'm the only customer I can see and wonder if the doors are locked and I'm stuck for the night.

I found a guy stocking shelves and asked if they were still open. He said yes, but they'd be closing in 25 minutes. I think of what else I need and think I'll have enough time. Then I try to turn down an isle. Along each side of the isle there are boxes haphazardly thrown for restocking.

All of a sudden I felt like I was on some warped version of Supermarket Sweep, or any of those other early 90's supermarket shows I loved as a kid. Instead of light so bright they make your eyes hurt the lights were dim, even off in many of the refrigerated cases. Instead of try to spend as much money as I could (diapers, formula, and meat heavy carts always seemed to win) I had to spend as little as possible. All while dodging boxes. In a store I'm not familiar with.

In the end I came out ok. The whole trip (including 20 mins driving round trip) took just over 40 minutes, half of what we need for Thanksgiving is in the fridge/pantry, we've got 1-2 months of cereal for the guys, and I only spent $46 and change.

Photo credit: www.rickbluhm.com

Sweet Potato Pie

If you have to make a dessert for Thanksgiving this is an easy and relatively inexpensive one to try. A couple years back Dave Lieberman (Food Network) did an episode called Thanksgiving for $45. Since seeing the episode air I've made this pie at least 8 times, quite possibly more. During the holiday season it's my go to dessert.

You'll need

2 sweet potatoes, about 10 ounces each
1 3/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers, finely ground)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted (regular will work in a pinch)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream (whole will work in a pinch)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

foil
pie plate
glass with a flat bottom
mixing bowl

The first thing you want to do is wrap the sweet potatoes in a double layer of foil. Roast them in the oven at 350 for 1 hr 15 minutes. The goal is really soft tender sweet potatoes.

While the potatoes are roasting stick 15 graham crackers in the food processor or a big resealable plastic bag and crush them until they're really fine. These two steps can be done a few days early to make your life easier. You could also grab a prepackaged pie crust, but it's not nearly as fun.

Measure 1 3/4 cups of the graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup brown sugar into the pie pan. Mix lightly. Pour the butter over the cracker/sugar mixture and mix until it's evenly moist. Use your glass with a flat bottom to press the graham crackers into an even layer in the pie plate. I like to start in the middle and work my way out.

Stick the crust in the over for 10 minutes at 350 to firm up. Take it out when it's golden brown and smelling all sorts of yummy.

Grab your cooled potatoes. Unwrap the foil then peel off the skin. This should be really easy to do. Put the potatoes in the mixing bowl and mash with a fork/potato masher. The consistency you mash your potatoes to will be the consistency of your pie, so do a good job. If you have any pieces that aren't soft enough stick them in the microwave for a few seconds.

Mix the remaining ingredients into the potatoes. Dave says to use a whisk, but I tend to use a spoon. When the batter is smooth pour it into the prebaked pie shell. Put the whole thing in the oven and cook approx 40 minutes until it is set.

The absolute hardest part of this is waiting for it to cool before you dig in!

How much does this cost?
I keep most of the ingredients for this in the fridge/pantry year round. The only things I have to buy are the sweet potatoes, cream, and graham crackers. For one pie these will run me around $3.50 if I'm just grabbing things, less if I plan it out and buy things on sale.

Turkey time

This will be my third year doing Thanksgiving. That sounds a lot more impressive than it is because the past 2 it's only been Gameboy and myself. Year 1 we were sick on Thursday and actually made the big meal on Sunday. Year 2 we ended up working one of the Thanksgiving college football games. We had dinner with the crew (and my uncle who was heading things up) and made dinner on Friday.

This year Gamedad is involved and we've invited a few single friends to drop by if they feel like company. So far the menu is:

Turkey
Stuffing (w mushrooms & apples)
Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce (fresh with orange)
Sweet potato pie

We bought the turkey already (20lbs for $10). Everything else, except maybe the mashed potatoes will be procured this weekend. I also need to figure out some veggies, but that will be based on sales. The only other things is if I (as a vegetarian) want a main course. Really it will come down to what I see when I'm at the store. Gameboy went grocery shopping twice this month, so even though I didn't set a grocery budget, it's blown.

What are your Turkey day plans?

A mini rant

Dear Dog Owners,

I know you love you dog. You want to spend a lot of time with your dog. For some they are like children. This is all wonderful. But can we talk for a moment about bringing your dog everywhere with you?

I'm still hanging out at the dealership, but instead of sitting in the comfy chairs I'm standing and typing in the intake area. Why? Because someone just walked in with her dog. It's 9:15 and starting the day with an allergy attack is not my idea of fun. I also know kids who are terrified of dogs. Should I have to leave the comfortable waiting area or should parents leave kids who are scared of dogs home so people can bring their dogs everywhere?

So can we please take the dogs doggy friendly places, like the dog park and pet stores? thanks

A smile at the pump

Usually when I fill up, then drive a block and see gas for $.14/gal less I get upset. While I don't think it makes sense to drive all over town for lower priced gas, I like to spend as little as possible. But even though I saw cheaper gas as soon as I'd topped off on Sunday night I was ok. Why you ask? Because my fill up was $21.48!

Our gas prices have continued to drop, so today I could fill up for almost half of the going rate last May. This would be an easy time to slack off and drive for the sake of driving but I'm still going to still try to hypermile and plan trips for smart driving. I am at the dealership finally getting my car serviced so hopefully I'll be able to push my MPG up 1-2 more miles.

Helping a Friend

I have a good friend that is ready to take a few financial leaps. She's 28, about to buy her first car (currently borrows from her parents) and lusting over buying a house. We were in grad school together and she has a hefty student loan bill. The other drains on her finances are a cute, but extremely mischievous dog. In the 6 month's she's had her puppy she's had 2 of the worst diseases puppies can get, chewed her way through many leashes, and at times required a special (expensive) diet.

Back in February we talked about paying off our student loans earlier and I encouraged her to open an ING account. After we talked she sent a few extra payments in, but otherwise didn't really act. Now that the need for a car and house down payment is looming, and with all of the economy fun she's decided she needs some direction.

We talked about things on our walk from her local ice cream/gelato shop.* When we got back to her place we got her an ING account (earning her $25, me $10), started a budget at PearBudget, and discussed whether she should cash in some Treasury bonds. Her plan is to have some of her paycheck go straight to ING for savings and track what she spends over the next month. She doesn't have any problem paying off her credit card bill at the end of the month, but she said she pretty much buys whatever she wants. I have been spending a lot on things that I think are frivolous, so I'll be traking my spending with her.

*Honey lavender gelato- need I say more?

Sorry

Yesterday's post is a good example of why I haven't been posting much this week. The majority of my free (and not totally wiped out) time has been in the early morning- which is not a good time for me. I tend to be whiny and see things in a negative light.

Work has been busy. Every time I feel like I've found my footing things get shaken up. That and I'm still learning to negotiate the political side of things. My position was open for a while and the council I work for just recently moved from a staff of 1 to a staff of 4.5. This equals a lot of requests for things, some of which I can do, some of which I can't. The fun part is telling folks with a lot of authority that I can't follow their request.

I've been working some outside of work and trying to get the house ready for winter. Clearly, not doing such a great job since yesterday's storm threw me off guard. I have been spending a lot of time in the car lately (or at least it feels that way). There are all sorts of things that I want to write about coming up in the near future.