Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Annual Property Taxes Due
Property Taxes are due at the end of June. We've already made our payment last week, through interent banking payment - which is so handy, we've been doing this for the last 3 years. We use the money from our tax refunds + any bonus money we get, to pay this each year. Going forward, though, in this economy, bonus money seems to be becoming of thing of the past, so we are putting $50 aside into a Money Market Fund to account for any shortfall we might have for next year, from the tax refunds.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Things we've given up/changed
What have we given up/done with out so that we can redirect those monies elsewhere
(such as into, Retirement, Travel and Emergency funds)
No more concerts
No more buying CDs/DVDs
No going to the movies
No more French Manicures/Pedicures
Longer time between hair appointments
No more buying books
Limiting eating out in restaurants and getting take out to a minimum
(such as into, Retirement, Travel and Emergency funds)
No more concerts
No more buying CDs/DVDs
No going to the movies
No more French Manicures/Pedicures
Longer time between hair appointments
No more buying books
Limiting eating out in restaurants and getting take out to a minimum
Friday, June 11, 2010
Random Rambling...
It's been awhile and a lot has happened. The 30 year old car needed to be traded in, so a 2006 Ford Truck was bought in it's place. This came 2 years earlier that we had hoped, but what can you do. We went back to our monthly budget, made the necessary adjustments and life goes on.
We also had a fabulous family vacation with our parents and it was just as memorable as we had hoped.
Did I mention I love gift cards - to me they are perfect gift to give and to receive.
We have our next 4 years worth of vacations planned out and now the saving has begun - we have itemized what our approximate expenditures should be on a spread sheet.
I finally got a new library card - $12 for the year, but the lady waived the annual fee for this year - so that was a nice unexpected savings. The value of having a library card is very worthwhile - when trying to be financially responsible - BUT - if anyone really knows me, they know I don't like germs - as in touching/reading messy books that have pages smeared with who knows what...but I'm not letting the reading stop - my solution - a bottle of hand sanitizer next to where I read - Hey, I'm doing what I can to make the most of "the situation".
We also had a fabulous family vacation with our parents and it was just as memorable as we had hoped.
Did I mention I love gift cards - to me they are perfect gift to give and to receive.
We have our next 4 years worth of vacations planned out and now the saving has begun - we have itemized what our approximate expenditures should be on a spread sheet.
I finally got a new library card - $12 for the year, but the lady waived the annual fee for this year - so that was a nice unexpected savings. The value of having a library card is very worthwhile - when trying to be financially responsible - BUT - if anyone really knows me, they know I don't like germs - as in touching/reading messy books that have pages smeared with who knows what...but I'm not letting the reading stop - my solution - a bottle of hand sanitizer next to where I read - Hey, I'm doing what I can to make the most of "the situation".
Thursday, March 18, 2010
What is your definition of frugality?
Our frugality definition. We find being frugal does not equate to being cheap, in our eyes anyways. We simply watch our money and try to be responsible with it. We live within our means and make informed choices, when we do spend. Being "frugal" within our definition, affords us the pleasure and opportunities of our goals, it makes us mindful of our money and how we spend it and it keeps us focused on long term retirement savings and any emergencies that might arise in between.
What is frugality to you?
What is frugality to you?
Check Credit Card Bills for mistakes
We always make it a habit of checking our credit card bill charges, on line, every couple of days, to make sure that no extra charges show up, that shouldn't be there. By doing this, over the last couple of years, we have caught approximately $400 in charges at various times that shouldn't have been charged to us and out of this $400, about $200 were things we had legitimately bought - but were accidently charged twice for the same thing. So it pays to double check.
Looking in your pantry
The last couple of months, we have tried to make a conscious effort to really look at what we need before we go shopping. It's hard to resist great sales, but we've been able to cut back on our spending, by not allowing ourselves to become caught up in buying something, just because it is on sale. We have also become creative with what we have in our pantry. A tasty & filling casserole that we concocted is:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 Cup of Basmati Rice - uncooked, prepare as per the directions, try adding black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder and margarine to the rice as the water is boiling.
1 Can of Red Kidney Beans - drained
2 Cups of Pace Chunky Med Salsa
1 Lg Can of Sliced Black Olives - drained
Grated Cheese - we used Shredded Tex Mex
Once the cooked rice has sat for 15 mins, combine in a large casserole dish all the above ingredients, except for the grated cheese. Mix the ingredients in the dish. Add the grated cheese evenly over the top of the mixture and bake at 375 degrees until the cheese starts to melt and brown. Remove from oven.
Let stand for 2 minutes and then serve.
Another tip, is to use any boxed cakes mixes in your pantry, follow the directions, but instead of making a cake, pour the batter into muffin tins and bake accordingly and there you have muffins to take in your lunch for the week.
To make canned cream of mushroom soup a little different, we add cooked peas and corn to the soup as it's heating up (along with the milk to the canned soup) add some Basil, Oregano and black pepper and once the soup is completely heated and we pour it into soup bowls, add some croutons and some shredded cheese to the top and there you have a new twist to plain old mushroom soup.
To add some zing to your mashed potatoes, as you are mashing the potatoes, if you have any creamy dressing (such as Creamy Ranch or Creamy Caesar), that is about to expire soon, add some to the mashed potatoes and voila - some great tasting mashed potatoes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 Cup of Basmati Rice - uncooked, prepare as per the directions, try adding black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder and margarine to the rice as the water is boiling.
1 Can of Red Kidney Beans - drained
2 Cups of Pace Chunky Med Salsa
1 Lg Can of Sliced Black Olives - drained
Grated Cheese - we used Shredded Tex Mex
Once the cooked rice has sat for 15 mins, combine in a large casserole dish all the above ingredients, except for the grated cheese. Mix the ingredients in the dish. Add the grated cheese evenly over the top of the mixture and bake at 375 degrees until the cheese starts to melt and brown. Remove from oven.
Let stand for 2 minutes and then serve.
Another tip, is to use any boxed cakes mixes in your pantry, follow the directions, but instead of making a cake, pour the batter into muffin tins and bake accordingly and there you have muffins to take in your lunch for the week.
To make canned cream of mushroom soup a little different, we add cooked peas and corn to the soup as it's heating up (along with the milk to the canned soup) add some Basil, Oregano and black pepper and once the soup is completely heated and we pour it into soup bowls, add some croutons and some shredded cheese to the top and there you have a new twist to plain old mushroom soup.
To add some zing to your mashed potatoes, as you are mashing the potatoes, if you have any creamy dressing (such as Creamy Ranch or Creamy Caesar), that is about to expire soon, add some to the mashed potatoes and voila - some great tasting mashed potatoes.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Goals
Set Goals - and watch the money grow and your goals become a reality. We are big goal setters. We write it down, research it and visualize it - constantly! This, in our minds, makes it become a reality. We use Money Market Accounts to save for each goal and have money each month automatically go into each of these Money Markets.
Everyone's goals are different so we will share what are ours are. We love to travel, so that is our reward for cutting back in other areas. To see and experience different places and people and for us, as a couple to share those memories, means so much. So we put money aside every month into a Money Market for that - we treat it as a bill payment, to remain consistant.
- We currently have 2 vehicles, Our SUV is great and reliable. Reliable, being the key word. The other vehicle is 30 years old at this point and has been good also, but lately it's shifting on the reliable part, so we have started another Money Market Account, with monthly contributions going into it, specifically for a 2nd hand truck purchase - we are hoping the older vehicle still has 2 years left in it (without us having to put a bunch of money into it), by then, we should be able to pay cash for a used truck.
- We have some Emergency Savings established, so this again is another Money Market Fund, as the more we can add to this account, the better.
At the moment, these are our goals, and we truly believe we will acheive them all, because we have the willpower and the determination to stick with it. We know what we want and we know how to achieve it so we will make them a reality.
Everyone's goals are different so we will share what are ours are. We love to travel, so that is our reward for cutting back in other areas. To see and experience different places and people and for us, as a couple to share those memories, means so much. So we put money aside every month into a Money Market for that - we treat it as a bill payment, to remain consistant.
- We currently have 2 vehicles, Our SUV is great and reliable. Reliable, being the key word. The other vehicle is 30 years old at this point and has been good also, but lately it's shifting on the reliable part, so we have started another Money Market Account, with monthly contributions going into it, specifically for a 2nd hand truck purchase - we are hoping the older vehicle still has 2 years left in it (without us having to put a bunch of money into it), by then, we should be able to pay cash for a used truck.
- We have some Emergency Savings established, so this again is another Money Market Fund, as the more we can add to this account, the better.
At the moment, these are our goals, and we truly believe we will acheive them all, because we have the willpower and the determination to stick with it. We know what we want and we know how to achieve it so we will make them a reality.
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