Payday!

Today was a payday.  Last week I had a windfall of cash that I spent throughout the week.  So I figured since I was only using cash during my week off I would carry that trend this week.  

I had an idea to contribute to my daughter's 529 account each paycheck.  I was considering 1/3 of each paycheck.  Instead I paid money towards debt.  Clearing the debt is always a good move.

They always say to make your money work for you.  Obviously you are not going to make much with your dollars in a low interest checking account but you can make sure you know where every dollar is going.

This breakdown is based on two weeks of income rather than a month.

Gym 9.6%

Credit Card 26.7%

College Expenses 3.3%

Football Game 8%

School Clothes 24%

Luncheon 10%

Remaining 18%

This list does not include all expenses.  This is just what I plan to do with the funds.

Normally you have extra expenses that are not planned for and you need to readjust your plans.

I have three people that I am buying clothes for this week.  The actual amount spent could be less but hopefully not more.  That is where cash comes in.  It is harder to part with cash.

Have a great Friday.  Happy saving!

Budget Shopping

 I calculated that I could buy 12.8 items at the Dollar Tree with $17. This amount included tax just in case. We were in walking distance of another discount store so we took our money there instead.  My first thought was look for items that were a $1 each.  First problem, I did not see a dollar area.  My two shoppers were on board and one took to using the calculator.  We spent $14.89.  Not bad.  The only item for a dollar was a loaf of bread.  We did get two Ramon items for 56 cents.  A couple items were less than the Dollar Tree, red sauce and spaghetti with meatballs.  Eggs were $3.05 for a dozen.  I did find a clearance section at the store.  I am not sure if they had a food clearance section.  

For comparison, I would like to go to another store and buy similar items.  I know that milk has increased in price recently so I would expect that eggs might be on the rise also.

Grocery Shopping 2020

 I came across a breakdown of a food run from January 10, 2010.  I decided to breakdown a receipt from 2020.

Food 2010 / 2020

41.02 / 83.20; Including Milk 3.68 / 4.30

Drinks 2010 / 2020

21.18 / 16.41

Snacks 2010 / 2020

28.73 / 17.48

Household Supplies 2010 / 2020

25.92 / 15.97

Baby Products 2010 / 2020

82.26 / 0

Interestingly both food orders contain Lemonade and Pink Lemonade.  The price was pretty similar although in 2020 I needed to buy 3 bottles to get the sale price. The Lemonade was 1.49 in 2010 and 1.66 in 2020 buying 3 for 5 dollars.

The bread category varied.  One loaf was priced at 1.29 and one was 2.19 in 2010.  The bread in 2020 was 1.99.

Dishwasher detergent was 4.19 for 20 count in 2010 and a bottle of the same brand was 4.99 in 2020.

Diapers were 18.99 for 96 count size 3 in 2010.

Happy shopping!

Buying a Car During a Pandemic

Car dealerships are open.  Now what?  Does everyone need a new car?  Probably not.  If you do need a new car how do you go about it?
Chances are you will probably not be test driving a ton of cars.  Many dealerships and other companies will bring cars to your homes or places of employment.  You can have a contactless transaction. 
We bought a car during a pandemic in June 2020.  The vehicle was brought to us but we were not allowed to test drive it while they were there.  Luckily we had already test drove the make and model of the vehicle back in January. 

Happy car buying!

Halloween Costumes

Growing up I had three costumes that I put together rather than buy the costumes.  There was a cowgirl, a gypsy and an angel.  I also borrowed a costume one year and was a clown.  All of the other costumes from what I can recall were store bought.  Normally a plastic mask and a plastic costume were involved.  I enjoyed getting the candy but probably did not enjoy the costumes very much. 

Two of my children have made their own costumes but for the most part they are still store bought.  We have had a candy, leprechaun and a pot of gold, bat man, bat man and a princess.  A duck, Pokemon, dragons, Superman, a ghost buster, star wars characters, Harry Potter characters, scream ghosts, and a werewolf.

We have never had family themed costumes.  I do remember getting a shirt from a shirt transfer place so I could be a Pokemon Catcher for my Pokemon children.  Two of my children have a Halloween parade at school and would prefer not to dress up this year.  Maybe they could dress up for a career. 

I still enjoy the candy part of Halloween.  My daughter enjoys the decorating even if she starts in August.
Happy ghosting!

We Got A Dog!

Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of when our dog passed away.  Last week we adopted a new dog.  The adoption fees cost $250.  The food bag cost $14 and a toy was $8.  Stool sample test was $34.  Happiness for the family priceless.  Welcome home, Moe!

Small Zoo

We encountered a small zoo on vacation.  This time I left wishing I could have spent more money feeding the animals and less on merchandise.  I spent $14 on animal food and about the same on merchandise.  Feeding the animals was fun.  Each item cost two dollars and could sometimes feed multiple animals.  How many times do you get the opportunity to feed goats, pigs, a bear, raccoons, monkeys, lemurs and alligators?  Over all the cost of admission was reasonable and the gift shop had a good selection if you ended up buying a souvenir t shirt or a small necklace. 

Saving for an Emergency Fund

If you currently have an emergency fund, how large is it?  What do you consider an emergency?  Food, shelter and medical attention are important.  What about a gift for a wedding or a shower?  How about school fundraisers?  All of these things should be closely monitored and considered when you are building up your emergency fund.  Do your kids need lessons after school every season?
What about your summer plans?  Can you do a stay cation?  How many animals does your family have or need?
One year we bought a generator,  It was the last one in stock and we did not have any electricity.  Did we sit down and say how much will this cost us per day?  Or did we snap it up feeling that if we would be without electricity too long we would need to pay for a hotel.
So many things come up that will prevent you from saving for your future. Outgrown clothes, a new shirt to take a yearbook photo, an expensive school field trip, a broken down car or a replacement water pump.
Let us break these items down into the necessities vs wants.
Necessities are similar to satisfiers and dissatifiers.  When you are satisfied with something you don't necessarily appreciate it but when you are dissatified you might complain.
My son needs a new dress shirt for his 8th grade photos.  True.  Is it a necessity, no.  Does he have a suitable dress shirt?  No because he outgrew it.  What happens when you go to the store?  Do you only buy a dress shirt or do you buy a matching tie and a suit.  How did a suit even come into the picture?  I would like to call it bargain shopping. A suit is on the radar for May and June events.  If the previous dress shirt purchased last year is too small chances are the previous suit is going to be on the smaller side also.
My oldest son is not too familiar with hammy downs while my youngest children often get hammy down toys and clothes.  This year one even got a hammy down back pack when theirs broke less than half way thru the year.
School trips might not always be expensive but some can definitely be on the pricier side.  A bus trip out of state with theater tickets, lunch and dinner is certainly on the more expensive side.
A school trip and a new shirt might be very small expenses compared to a broken down car, a generator or a water pump.  Some of these items can be saved up for so that you do not need to touch your emergency fund.  Chances are when your older car is inspected you will need certain things such as new tires, brakes, windshield wipers and various lights.  A generator might be needed only every few years for a short amount off time.  Can you make do without one?  For some a generator may be a necessity while for others it might just be a want.  Most things beyond food, shelter and medical treatment could be considered wants.  A third car may be a necessity for three drivers in a family and other families find ways to share the two or one cars that they own.
Good luck in determining your needs and wants in the upcoming months.

Picking a High School

Since my oldest is 14 it is time to select a high school.  There are many different options that people choose.  I find that most people decide on a public high school or some type of cyber school.  We did not exhaust all options but we did try to evaluate four different schools.  Choosing a high school can begin in 7th grade or earlier if they have lower grades.  Applications can vary on deadlines but be sure to check if there are discounts offered for applying early.
One thing that I would strongly suggest is taking practice entrance exams or even courses designed to help with learning how to take the exams.
Good luck with your endeavors.

Summer Expenses

Do your summer expenses normally go up or down during the summer?  Ours would normally go up slightly due to a summer vacation.  Sometimes activities are stopped for summer and replaced by camp fees.  Part of our summer expenses include a pool membership, swim team, swim team bathing suits, pictures and snacks at meets.  Maybe your food bill can go down if you don't need to buy individual snacks for lunches.  Every bit helps.  The swim club we belong to does not have a place to sell food day to day.  This is probably better but the ice cream truck does come around to try to entice everyone to buy something.  I could bring a snack similar to something that the children would buy at the ice cream truck to try to save some money that way.
I am finding out that my children don't have all the memories of the vacations that I had hoped.  Our son asked if he had ever been to a particular state.  Yes, we took a vacation in the state he mentioned but he was only 4 years old.  I personally do not have any memories prior to age 4 or 5 in my own life.
It is okay to have down time during the summer break.  Every moment does not need to be scheduled.  I have noticed that some places have discounts during the week even though it is summer.  That could be advantageous in multiple ways.  First is the discount and second is the place may be less crowded.
You can pace yourself and not do everything in the same summer.  There is an Aqua Park that looks to be fun but some of our children were probably too young to go in the past.  The best way to go would be on the discounted days even if that means a scheduled day off from work.  Many times earlier in the day or later in the day are the best times to avoid crowds.  Some places offer free or discounted twilight prices.  I have also seen pay what you wish for museum admissions.  
Whatever you do or don't do this summer, there is always next year.  Check out when the best sales are so you can plan for a certain time or destination.  Enjoy!

Balance Transfer Checks

Recently we took notice of balance transfer checks. These offers to add to your credit card debt may appear tempting.
Here are a few items to take note of in the rules.

Interest will accrue on new credit card purchases (that are not at 0%) if your balance is not paid in full by the due date. I had seen a recommendation not to use the credit card at all if you are using the card for a balance transfer.

Minimum payments may go to pay off the lowest interest rate including 0%. Some of the companies may apply the money beyond the minimum payment to the highest interest rates first.

When you transfer a balance to a credit card it may not have the normal air miles and rewards.

I was surprised to learn that you can also deposit these balance transfer checks into the bank rather then just using them to pay off another credit card to get a lower rate. Assuming you were willing to get bogged down with using a credit card at all this could sound appealing. I can see many uses where this could come in very handy. The trick would be not to use the card for anything else until it is paid off.

Do the companies send these offers to you when you have a balance on the card or is it just a tool to draw in new business when you are not charging to the existing credit card anymore?

Good luck with your financial future!

When Uncle Sam Comes A Knocking...

Did you ever get a rude awaking at tax time?  Ever get a bill bigger than you can handle?
What are your options to pay it?  I will cover one.
A Personal Loan
The quotes will vary based on the lending institution, based on your credit, possibly whether you have an existing financial relationship with them and if you will use the automatic debit feature.

The range of interest rates could span a number of percentage points.  It is best to contact a number of different places.  It is also a good idea to do your homework before you make any final decisions.  Can you finance less money and for a shorter amount of time?
Some lending institutions use the same interest rate regardless of whether you take the loan out for one, two or three years.  That is a surprise to me.  I would have expected to be quoted a lower rate for taking out a loan for one year than for three years.

Here are some helpful tools to help you do your homework.  Knowing the terms of the loan before you walk in the door to sign a contract are key.  You don't want to jump on a loan that you are unsure if the terms are what you need.

401K Cost Calculator for early withdrawal
The 401K Cost Calculator is helpful as more companies are shutting their doors and/or offering their employees their retirement savings early.

Personal Loan Calculator

The personal loan calculator will help you determine what your payment will be as well as how long the loan will take to pay off if you make additional payments.


Hopefully you will not be in need of a loan come tax time.

Spending More Than You Make?

Is the reason that you like a certain day of the week because it is payday?  Our payday is twice a week on Friday.  Today I plan to stay home and not spend any money.  Why because tomorrow I can pay cash for things.  Today I can pay cash for items but it would be from savings and not from a new paycheck.
What percentage of what you make goes to each category?  What is the normal amount?  Are you higher or lower than you would like?  Are there things you care less about that you can chip away at from a particular category.

Our pending decision is whether to take the company offered medical plan or to pick up coverage on our own.  This was our first year with an HMO.  In prior years PPOs were the selections for the companies that employed my husband.  PPOs enable you to go to in network providers without having a referral.  Referrals now tend to be on a central database and take limited amount of time to set up.  Referrals were not as much of an inconvenience as they could have been.

Do you tighten your wallet when you have less money and tend to be more free with money when you more of it in your possession?  Last October we needed a new dishwasher.  We did not have the money saved up for it but went ahead and put it on credit.  This past month we wanted new chairs for the living room.  We had the money and paid cash for them.  We paid cash for them is key but did we budget to get them or were the chairs an unbudgeted item?  I would say they were an unbudgeted item.  When we first bought a house we had a goal of getting a dining room set. We had a picture of the set on the refrigerator waiting for the day when we could afford the dining room set.

When I look towards tomorrow do I run right out and shop for more chairs?  Probably not.  We do want to get seating for 7 and currently we have three new chairs.  We plan on buying two more adult chairs and two
 additional chairs for teenagers.  I have an idea of what I want or could use.  The teenagers have an idea of what they want.  Their chairs cost about 60 apiece while the adult chairs will be about 250 a piece.

Since it is December we will have added expenses related to Christmas presents and additional food for the holidays.  We have extended family that we can buy presents to mail away.  This is always optional.  We are hit or miss whether we do it or not.  Last year we did not have gifts for everyone that we visited on Christmas.  It worked out okay but I wished I did have something available to give to them especially since we received unexpected presents from them.  This year we can be prepared but I am really thinking of tokens of appreciation in the form of artwork or cookies rather than a retail type gift.

We also need to keep our eye on the prize.  No debt in January is one.  Four more seats for the living room is another.  Food in the refrigerator is a good one.  Gas in the car and oil in the furnace are good choices also.  Everyday we are faced with choices on how to spend our money.  Do we pack a lunch the night before or do we write a check for our child's lunch account?  Today I wrote two checks for lunch accounts.  The other day I handed over $20 in cash to fund another lunch account.  My oldest son says he would need about $5 or 6 dollars a day to eat in the cafeteria.  My youngest sons are capped at about $3 per day and they can get a good amount of food.  One problem with bringing the extra food into the house is that it does not get saved for lunch but random snacking.  While reviewing the school calendar there are 15 school days in December. The students that need $5 a day for lunch would be spending $75 for December.  Considering we have 5 children that number is going to add up fast.

Do you participate in all the holiday gift giving?  We do every year.  In the past I have thought it would be good to celebrate Christmas every two years.  This year I have watched so many Christmas movies that it is looking like visiting friends and family is what should be taking advantage of during the holiday season.  It is not so much the present that is important but being present to share your time with others.

When we bought the chairs with cash we might have used unbudgeted dollars but we did not use credit.  The problem came later in the month when rather than use the existing paycheck to pay for the lunch accounts we used savings.  While it could be argued that funding the lunch accounts were necessary they were still unbudgeted.  It is fairly easy to make up a budget.  The hard part is sticking to the budget and saying no to the things or events that are not in the budget.

We have a goal of not using credit for this holiday season.  Done.  We shredded the credit already.  The next goal is to live within our means.

Shred the Credit

In the past we were debt free except for a mortgage.  Now we need to struggle to get back to that comfortable position.  What lead up to the making less than you spend and needing to rely on credit?  Loss of a job, give birth to twins, rely on additional income that is not an annual occurrence, medical plan changes, middle age, children involved in more organized activities, expanding family means larger home, larger grocery bills, more expensive healthcare plans and more expensive utilities.
Our home
1998 we moved to our first home.  In 2008 we moved to our 2nd home. In 2009 we sold our first home.  In 2009 we had twins.  In 2012 my husband changed jobs. In 2013 he was laid off from the new job.  Two months later he had a new job.  During this time we started charging items but not paying off the balance because there was a promotional 0% interest rate.  After the lay off I think we were unsure how long the lay off would last and did not focus on paying down our credit card prior to our interest rate going up.
Now in 2015 we are trying to get back on track.  We did this once before.  In 2005 we had just bought and leased two cars and no other debt.  In 2008 we were on our way to paying off our first house in approximately four years.  Our cars were paid off and we were handling our financial donations very well.
The problem was we were still relying on our credit cards to pay our extra expenses.  Today we shredded our credit cards.  No fan fare just a simple shredding.

My husband asked that we use cash and debit card exclusively so we have no need for a credit card.  I have thought of one instance where it could be a problem.  That would be an unmanned gas station and all that you have is cash.  I guess we will need to get all our gas during daylight hours.

Summer Movie 2014

Planes: Fire & Rescue may be the best movie about determination, friendship and that life is not always what you expect. Glad we had an opportunity to see it.

Travel Video For a Friend July 2014

Bowling for 6

The deal was $60 for two hours of bowling, shoes, 2 slices of pizza each and a pitcher of a soft drink.  I did not feel satisfied with my purchase when we only got thru one game of bowling during the 1 and 1/2 hours that we were there.  I guess 60 frames on one lane in an hour and a half works.  I am not sure how much it would have been to buy everything separately.  The other alternative would have been to reserve two lanes so that we could finish a game faster.  Live and learn.
Fast forward two years and we had two lanes for 7 people. Due to bowling alley problems with one of the lanes we saved money on the shoes. Due to a web site coupon we had a two free pitchers of fruit punch. With our savings we were able to buy a pizza to serve all 7. We also splurged on vending machine items. The price might have worked out similar but we only needed to spend $30 and we bowled and had beverages. 

Day 1 Evening

At the suggestion of a friend, I am trying to reduce our intake of processed foods.  That is going to be more possible once all the cookies etc are gone. 
Our evening meal consisted of a hamburger without a roll, lettuce, carrots and cantaloupe for dessert.
7 family members
5 ate the hamburgers, one needed ketchup and cheese on the hamburger
4 ate the cantaloupe

I am feeling full or satisfied.  Guess I need to do some shopping. 

Desserts on a Budget

Do you ever find yourself craving something?
I made three desserts yesterday with the help of the Internet.  I rearranged my cabinets recently and I knew what ingredients I had and where all the measuring spoons were located.
I was able to search in house ingredients to search out what I could make. 
I found many recipes for chocolate brownies and peanut butter.  I choose a recipe that would produce cupcakes.  I have never made anything with a brownies mix except the actual pan of brownies.  Cupcake brownies with peanut butter was a success.  I also choose an additional recipe on a box that was supposed to make cake bars.  I added additional water and an egg so my intended bars were a cake instead.  No problem.  I might try that one again without the extra water and egg.  This cake had peanut butter in it also.  My children figured I was craving chocolate and peanut butter. 
My third dessert was an pineapple upside down cake.  Most of my children enjoy pineapple so they were willing to try it.
Now on to main meals.  I have cream of chicken soup but no additional chicken so I was trying to find a recipe for that.  I also have canned green beans and was looking at some version of a green bean casserole.  Other ingredients on hand include graham crackers and rice.  I am trying to use up some of my extra pantry items.  3 cake mixes seem like a lot.  I also had an enormous amount of peanut butter.  I am also fully stocked with red sauce and types of spaghetti. 
My craving was really for some more space in the cabinets and to try new things.
Best wishes for a fulfilling day.

Monthly Expenses

Maybe the best way to tackle monthly expenses is to discuss them. Recently I asked a group online if my expenses seemed in line.  Auto insurance stuck out as something that could be worked on to be lowered.  If you have friends or relatives living in the same area try to compare your expenses.  While you might feel that you are a great negotiator and got the best price you might be wrong.  My husband thinks that our cell phone plan can't be beat.  That might be true but we don't have the best Internet access by a long shot. 
The reality is that a savings of $10 a month can really add up over the years.  Please take the time to look at your expenses and try to compare your expenses either with a competitor or with a neighbor.  Your might be surprised.  Many people switch their cable company every few years.  My oil prices are literally thru the roof.  Each year they seem to be a much bigger financial drain on our finances. 
Good luck with your decisions.  Easy adjustments include things that are not necessary, extra auto insurance, too many unused minutes each month on your cell phone and a land line that includes long distance when you primarily use your cell phone.

Stay at Home Parents Denied Credit Cards

I am afraid it is a sad day when a stay at home parent is denied a credit card.  I realize the best way to get a credit card is to have your own personal income source.  When this is not available the next criteria can be to look at the household income.

Many years ago I saw a television program where a woman was having trouble establishing her own personal credit.  I knew early on that good credit was important.  It surprises me that a stay at home parent would not be able to use the household income to obtain a credit card. 

If you are not the main account holder of the credit card you will not be able to make certain changes to the credit card account but you will be able to make all the purchases and pay the bills.  The main account holder needs to make the request for a higher credit limit or raise the question about lowering the interest rate. 

I hope that household income is considered in offering credit cards but I doubt that a stay at home parent will have the same issues with obtaining debit cards.  In the past many people have forgone using their credit card and opted to use their debit card instead.  Maybe the wave of the future will be to utilize cash more often.

Put Out the Closed Sign

A friend and her husband are starting their own business.  Getting out of the 9 to 5 grind can be appealing but in reality the hours become more than 9 to 5 because you are the owner.  Another family took over a restaurant.  They realize that the business could take over their lives and they closed the business two of the seven days per week, one for family time and one to get ready for the next week.

In our own lives, wouldn't it be good to be able to put up the closed sign once in a while.  Some people make appointments with themselves.  We also need to make time for the financial parts of our lives.  Whether you are a teacher, an architect, or a financial planner; money is important and we need to take the time to manage it. 

Do you have unnecessary atm fees, bank overdrafts or other banking charges?  Do you have time set aside to review your bank statements or do a bank reconciliation?  Try spending some time to plug the holes that are draining your bank accounts and investments.  In my case, my 529 accounts are costing me money because I am not investing currently and fees are being taken out.

Put out the closed sign for your family, friends and work.  Say hello to your financial side.

Something Happened in the Last Four Years

Just recently, I noticed that there are many 4 bedroom single homes that are affordable and costing less than my current home.  My first inclination is to consider moving.  My second thought is to take a look at what is really going on.  If these houses have become more affordable what is happening to my own home?  Is the value of my home staying the same or decreasing?
I recently looked at a four bedroom home about 20 minutes from my house that costs $220,000.  What was the value of that home four years ago?  Have the prices of homes gone down significantly or only slightly.
Some of the home valuing websites have my home listed as having three bedrooms rather than four bedrooms.  This will make some of the valuations lower than expected.  Overall my home has not increased in value.  Sad but understandable. 
Have you looked at your home's value recently?  Is there anyway to increase the value of the home?
Recent upgrades to your property could increase the value of the home.  My home could use a new shed.  We recently installed a remote controlled ceiling fan in one of the bedrooms. 
Another thing to look at is the current balance that you owe on the home.  Ideally you never owe more than your home is worth.  Over the past four years we have refinanced our home once.  If you are not planning to stay in your current home over a certain amount of years refinancing does not always pay off.
One good thing that happened over the last four years is that our source of income (my husband's job) is now local.  We are officially moved.  Both our home and employment are in the same zip code. 
Now the trick is to start paying down the mortgage significantly so that a house that is 20 minutes away non rush hour does not look so appealing because the overall mortgage amount would be less. 
It is time for an epiphany.  A time to realize that if we tighten our belts we can knock out years from our mortgage by doing a bigger snow ball payment each month.

Leftover Supplies

What do you do with your leftover supplies?
Use, Donate, trash?
Food Ingredients
Recently I purchased ingredients to make two desserts.  I also purchased a couple extra items in case I made a second one  either because the first was so good or because I thought I might do a trial run.
End result: what do you do with the extra ingredients?  In the past I found a web site that you type in ingredients that you want to use and it will produce recipes that use those ingredients.  Also you could ask people that are local if they would like the extra ingredients to use.  Third, if you are not planning on using the item before the expiration date you might as well toss the ingredient and keep the room in the cabinet or the refrigerator.
If you know ahead of time that you are going to have extra of an item such as buttermilk, sour cream, cream cheese, plain yogurt or other perishable things maybe you can find another recipe that will use the excess ingredients.  Your family may enjoy the unexpected cheese cake.  Can the item be repackaged and frozen for later use?
Craft Items
I recently bought iron on letters to use on a shirt.  I only used 7 of the letters.  What should happen to the rest of the iron on letters?  Can it be used for another project?  Can you give it to someone else?  Should you toss it?
The Excess
We should consider what to do with the excess when we buy the item.  We might buy a smaller amount or buy something different that we can reuse or buy something different where there is nothing left over.  How many of us have a few plates from a party or a piece of wrapping paper from whatever gift giving occasion?  I once had a pollyanna type party where I wrapped all the gifts in different left over pieces of paper.  An idea for the extra plates is to use at another party even though the theme is not correct or save them for vacation so you have less dishes to do when you eat in.  When buying the plates you could buy less of the themed plates and include more generic plates so that you can definitely use the extra plates at another event. 
It is good to save things but only if we seriously plan to use the items in the future.

Summer Living

As the calendar advances forward, summer is on its way. Two and a half months where your finances can get out of whack quickly if you are not careful. While your spending increases you also need to keep your eye on the goals that you have for the entire year. Some parks offer discounts, whether it is on certain days or during certain hours. Take advantage of discounts for the parks at nearby restaurants. Sometimes there are discounts offered to school children for doing something such as reading books. How can you go to the park without spending top dollar?

Summer Living

Last summer we rented a three bedroom home for a week. Amenities included use of tennis courts, pool, a lake, a full kitchen, a charcoal grill and a washer and dryer. Being in a rancher with two crawling boys was a bonus. We visited a water park and two children's museums with our children ranging in age from 7 to 1.

Keeping our food costs down, we ate our breakfasts and dinners "at home". We brought our lunches if we were out. We traveled 1/2 hour away to purchase our food where we already had a gift card. Our food was paid for at the store we just had to go and pick it out.

I was thinking that to prepare for this summer I could organize all the summer items together in the basement. Items for the beach, pool, hot weather, bbq, outside toys, water cameras, suitcases, beach towels, coolers, flip flops, water shoes, etc could all be grouped together on a few shelving units. This could eliminate some last minute seek and not finds and avoid some overbuying.

Have a happy and safe summer!

Birthday Parties

Do you need a kids party every year? Probably not, but what do you do instead?
Make the day special by having a play date close to the child's birthday. Go on an adventure. Make the child's favorite meal. Celebrate your child.

Our recent birthday party was themed as a kids sports party. They played duck, duck goose. Threw the ball to velcro paddles, took a lacrosse stick and a ball and tried to get the ball into the frog's mouth on a painted wooden board with a hole for the mouth, followed an obstacle course and they started out with a few exercises. Next they had pizza and drinks, pinata, and celebrated with a song and cake. The place that
hosted the party provided the pinata, pizza, birthday themed paper
products and the cake including candles.

Unexpected Hospital Bill in February

Son 2 goes for a sick visit and comes home three days later. Parent portion of the hospital stay is $850. Now the fun part, having to pay this bill after paying all the holiday bills. Options 1) pay in full 2) finance 3)payment plan with out interest or 4)payment plan with interest.

Hopefully #1 will be the only option we need to consider.
If you are close to living paycheck to paycheck; paying an unexpected bill will require gaining more funds. So first we need to look at those options.

1) Are there any snowball payments that can be suspended temporarily?
Items that don't need to be paid immediately but you are doing snowball payments to pay down a debt or debts.

2)Use less of something or do without. Any unnecessary expenses?
Think about what you are doing in the upcoming weeks. Can things be cancelled or
postponed?

3)Grocery savings see www.couponmom.com and America's cheapest family website for ideas.

4)Adjust your thermostat for savings.

5)Pay bills on line to avoid cost of stamps.

6)Eat all your meals at home or bring leftovers from the night before.

7)Keep up with car maintenance. You don't want another unexpected financial problem to creep up.

8)Send in your taxes if you are getting a rebate.

9)If you are getting a rebate, look into adjusting your paycheck so that you rec. more money in your paycheck throughout the year.

10)Evaluate the things that you are paying other people to do for you. Can you do the job yourself? Plumbing, lawn care, babysitting.

Here We Go Again

January always seems like crunch time. We refuse to finance on our credit cards and would probably sell some things before dealing with credit card finance charges.
The idea of switching to a cash system still has some draw backs. It is important to track the money. More important is to spend less than we make. No longer immune to the changes in the economy; everything has gone up in price. Has anything gone back down?
The real problem this year seems to be the higher price for oil heat. How can one home need $2000 worth of oil in less than two months? Last winter and summer (Dec 09 thru Aug 10) we spent $3,000. The year previous (Dec 08 thru Aug 09) we spent $2,400.00.
Our electric is on a monthly budget plan. It has rose 35%. From $200 per month to $270 per month.

What is the price of a smile?

When planning a child's birthday party, what is your intended outcome?
A) For your child to be happy.
B) For your child to have fun.
C) For you to have a relaxing day.

Can all of these goals be accomplished without breaking the bank?
If your venue cost $200 or more without food you might be spending too much.
Let's start with the basics. Fun, fun, fun.
How do you accomplish this task?

Create your own party games.
Bake your own cake.
Skip the party bags.

As your child ages; the guest list increases. Sometimes you even have two parties. How can you have a party without cutting the guest list? Sometimes you can get a discount by having a party at a non-popular time. Skip the extra food. Try just serving the main event, beverages and cake. If it is not a long party this should be fine.
Entertainment
Plan your time well. Always better to have more things to do then not enough.
Location
Can you hold an event at a local park or at your house?
Party Favors
Maybe your party favors can be part of the activity that you did.

A simple snack, craft or game, drinks, cake and a camera might be all you need. Kids enjoy getting messy, being loud and having fun. Parents enjoy seeing a smile.

Happy party planning.

Grocery Shopping

At the beginning of the year is the time to start analyzing your expenses such as grocery shopping. How much of your bill (dollars) is going to food and how much is going towards other items? Some grocery stores actually will give you your categories of spending. More likely, you will need to figure it out yourself.
Here are some percentages from a recent shopping trip.

Food includes fruit and Baby items include formula and baby food.

Food 21%
Beverages 11%
Snacks 14%
Household Supplies 13%
Baby items 41%

A few impulse buys are included in the household supply amount. Rather than hold an impulse buy to one or two items maybe a dollar amount might be a better approach.