For me the worst part of the whole broke and desperate scenario has always been the "what if" question. What if my car breaks down and I can't afford to take it to the shop? What if the washer stops working and I can't afford to call the repair man? What if my son gets a hole in his tennis shoes and I can't afford to replace them? These are scary thoughts and if you don't have an answer they can be down right terrifying!
A long time ago (way before the broke and desperate scenario) I decided I didn't like the feeling of being helpless and at the mercy of either some overpriced repairman or the inflated retail establishments. I figured if it was broken already, and I was careful, I might as well try to fix it first, right? I have been known in years past to take apart vacuum cleaners, laptop computers, toasters, ect. And the truth is the only one of all these things I was not able to fix was the toaster. I was not always sure what it was I did that actually fixed them, but I was grateful and delighted that they once again worked.
The other day I was once again faced with a "what if" situation come to life. The power window on the drivers side of my car stopped working, then a couple of days later the power locks and my alarm system and remote stopped as well. This is not a catastrophic event, I realize this. But it is inconvenient and could be an indicator of a larger problem.
After the initial panic subsided I summoned forth "Little Ms. Do-It-Yourself". This is my alter ego that hangs out in my subconscious until she is asked to come out and play, then happily trots out to explore what ever problem I am facing. My first thought was it had to be fuses. When I couldn't locate the fuse box because it wasn't where I expected it to be (under the driver side dashboard), I consulted my owners manual and was informed it was under the hood in my engine compartment in a locked case. Okaaayyyy. It took me a half an hour to wrestle that box open only to find I have 82 fuses. EIGHTY TWO!!!!! Ok, deep breaths, consult the manual, find the diagram, realize the diagram is actually of the box upside down that I am looking at, identify the right fuses, pull them out and.... crap. The fuses are fine. Now what? My son's comment was "don't worry mom, we will take it in have it looked at". NO. This shall not defeat me. I decided to go searching for answers. After 15 minutes of searching on Google and phrasing my question six different ways, I stumbled on a forum dedicated to my vehicles model. Evidently my problem is relatively common for my car make/year and others have gone searching for the same solution. Lucky for me they have posted both question and several solutions.
I am the first to admit I am not a mechanic. I am a 46 yr old soccer mom who specializes in arts and crafts. But I have always have a fascination for cars and love getting greasy in the pursuit of how things work. That being said, I was pretty skeptical about the solutions posted. Of course the first one was to replace the fuses. Check. The second was so far fetched I had to reread it 3 times to make sure I was understanding it correctly. Here is what it said:
"Remove both battery cables from the terminals, tap them together a couple of times, leave off for at least 5 minutes then reattach the cables to the terminals, making sure to clean the posts of any corrosion."
Really? Should I do a little "electrical system" dance and tap my heels together 3 times as well? Ok, enough of the sarcasm, but you get the idea. I had a little disbelief going on here, but what the heck. Of course the first time I tried it it didn't work. After laughing my butt off at myself that I had actually went through the little process with any thought that it COULD work I realised I had skipped one part. I didn't wait the 5 minutes before reconnecting the cables. So I did it again, waited 10 minutes (just in case) and reconnected the cables. It worked. I couldn't believe it. The logical part of my brain knows it probably has something to do with resetting some electrical power module thingy, but the fanciful part of my brain just said YIPEEEEE!
What is the point of this whole commentary? The point is this. Before we let the panic and despair of the whole situation pull us further under we can look for do-it-yourself solutions. It may not be as easy as picking up the phone and saying "come fix this", or as quick as just running and buying another one, but it is doable. When you feel you are out of options and facing a real dilemma, change your mindset.
Try to calm the panic and evaluate the problem. If the vacuum cleaner is not sucking pull off the hose and check for clogs. Not the problem? Is the brush thing spinning? Look for answers on the Internet, call and ask everyone you know, take the thing apart and look for loose wires, clogs, blown fuses, ect. Don't be afraid to try and fix it yourself first. If you still can't figure it out and can't afford to fix/replace it look for alternatives. Can you live without the window rolling down? Could you borrow a vacuum from your neighbor a couple of times until you can come up with a solution? Could you ask a good friend if you can run a couple of loads of laundry at her place while you sit and have coffee (and some Banana Nut bread you baked and brought with you)? Then, after you have bought a little time look for ways you can divert funds from other areas to cover this expense, keep asking to see if anyone knows of a inexpensive alternative or if anyone knows someone qualified to fix the thing who will work with you. If you put the word out you might even find someone who has an "extra" of whatever it is and is willing to give it to you or work out a fair deal.
If we change our mindset to "I can and will find a solution" instead of throwing our hands in the air and wailing about the injustice of the universe we can find a way to overcome any obstacle life throws in our way.
Showing posts with label waste money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waste money. Show all posts
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Gobble Gobble Redux
My household is small, by family standards. It is just my 18 yr old son, a menagerie of animals and myself. But at Thanksgiving I chose to cook a 13.5 lb turkey. I thought the process of selecting a turkey would be as simple as it has been in years past.
Every grocery store around had a special price on turkey and the prices were as low as $.39 a lb, such a deal! But in years past I had never paid attention to what I had to do to get the "special" price. You have to buy a minimum dollar amount of groceries. The more you spent the cheaper the turkey got. I have always cooked for a crowd because my house has always been where all the "orphans" came for holidays, and I love the feeling of sharing the occasion with all sorts of people. That being said, $100.00 spent on a huge feast to feed 20 people was not unusual. But this year I couldn't do it (spend $100 bucks, the invitation to orphans was still open). Not only did I not have a spare $100 dollars in the budget, I didn't need that much for the meal. Because I have been shopping carefully, stocking up on pantry items when on sale and buying less convenience foods I already had most of the basics for the meal.
I had asked my son what foods bring to mind Thanksgiving. What was important to him that be on the table for it to be a genuine holiday feast. This was what he came up with:
Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Cool Whip (this kills me, I am a real whipped cream person all the way)
Deviled Eggs
Olives/Pickles tray
Seems like a lot for just a couple of people, but hey, I asked. So I started doing an inventory of the cupboards and refer to determine what I already had. This is what was on hand:
Canned green beans (bought at a 2/1.00 sale a couple of weeks before)
Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup (bought that week on sale for $.89)
2 packages of french fried onions NOT French's (bought at the Dollar Tree earlier, $1 each, not quite as good as French's, but still good)
Potato's (always have these on hand)
Stuffing fixings (actual bread stuffing, chicken stock, ect)
Eggs (bought that week with a store coupon for $.99)
condiments to make deviled eggs
Olives (bought at the Dollar Tree earlier, then I saw them on sale for $.89 thanksgiving week)
Pickles (always have these in the refer)
Dark Caro Syrup (Don't know when I bought this, but there it was!)
Everything I needed to make pie crusts
I was shocked and I must admit pleasantly surprised to realize I had so much of the meal right in my cupboards.
My grocery list ended up looking like this:
Turkey
Pumpkin Puree
Heavy Whipping Cream
Pecans
and drinks
When I happily trotted off to the store to pick up my tiny list and my $.39 lb turkey I was shocked to find it was $1.79 a lb without the minimum purchase! Yikes! And that minimum purchase is BEFORE they ring up the turkey. Okay, I needed to regroup. I went back home, got online and did some research on all the stores it would be feasible for me to stop at in my normal travels that day. I ended up finding the turkey for $1.59 lb, and they had a $3.00 off coupon if it was over 12.5 lb and "fresh". Not exactly the deal of the century, but better than $1.79 lb. On the way there I stopped at another dollar discount store and found pumpkin puree. I ended up buying:
13.5 lb turkey for $18.47
.5 lb pecans for $3.47
Heavy whipping cream $1.49
2 2ltr soda $1.76 ($.88 ea)
1 can pumpkin puree
total at grocery store= $25.89
Plus I figure about $10.00 for all the stuff I had already. So Thanksgiving dinner cost around $36.00. We ate leftovers for 3 days then it was time to be done with it.
We still had a lot of turkey left on the carcass so I cleaned off all the meat, and put it in a large pot to boil. When it was done I again cleaned off any extra meat while discarding the bones. I had several quarts of turkey broth and extra meat for turkey rice soup, enough meat to make turkey sandwiches for my son's lunch for several days, and made turkey noodles (with peas and corn mixed in) for lunch that day.
As much as I hated paying $1.59 lb for the turkey in the end I feel the whole process was a good investment. We had a lovely holiday and enough leftovers to feed us about a week. Not bad for $36.00 bucks, right?
One Frugal Thing I did today-
I made my college age son lunch to take to classes instead of him buying fast food when he is STARVING after class. A turkey sandwich, homemade chocolate chip cookies, cheeto-like cheese puffs from the dollar store and a container of homemade potato salad.
Yummmm!
Every grocery store around had a special price on turkey and the prices were as low as $.39 a lb, such a deal! But in years past I had never paid attention to what I had to do to get the "special" price. You have to buy a minimum dollar amount of groceries. The more you spent the cheaper the turkey got. I have always cooked for a crowd because my house has always been where all the "orphans" came for holidays, and I love the feeling of sharing the occasion with all sorts of people. That being said, $100.00 spent on a huge feast to feed 20 people was not unusual. But this year I couldn't do it (spend $100 bucks, the invitation to orphans was still open). Not only did I not have a spare $100 dollars in the budget, I didn't need that much for the meal. Because I have been shopping carefully, stocking up on pantry items when on sale and buying less convenience foods I already had most of the basics for the meal.
I had asked my son what foods bring to mind Thanksgiving. What was important to him that be on the table for it to be a genuine holiday feast. This was what he came up with:
Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Cool Whip (this kills me, I am a real whipped cream person all the way)
Deviled Eggs
Olives/Pickles tray
Seems like a lot for just a couple of people, but hey, I asked. So I started doing an inventory of the cupboards and refer to determine what I already had. This is what was on hand:
Canned green beans (bought at a 2/1.00 sale a couple of weeks before)
Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup (bought that week on sale for $.89)
2 packages of french fried onions NOT French's (bought at the Dollar Tree earlier, $1 each, not quite as good as French's, but still good)
Potato's (always have these on hand)
Stuffing fixings (actual bread stuffing, chicken stock, ect)
Eggs (bought that week with a store coupon for $.99)
condiments to make deviled eggs
Olives (bought at the Dollar Tree earlier, then I saw them on sale for $.89 thanksgiving week)
Pickles (always have these in the refer)
Dark Caro Syrup (Don't know when I bought this, but there it was!)
Everything I needed to make pie crusts
I was shocked and I must admit pleasantly surprised to realize I had so much of the meal right in my cupboards.
My grocery list ended up looking like this:
Turkey
Pumpkin Puree
Heavy Whipping Cream
Pecans
and drinks
When I happily trotted off to the store to pick up my tiny list and my $.39 lb turkey I was shocked to find it was $1.79 a lb without the minimum purchase! Yikes! And that minimum purchase is BEFORE they ring up the turkey. Okay, I needed to regroup. I went back home, got online and did some research on all the stores it would be feasible for me to stop at in my normal travels that day. I ended up finding the turkey for $1.59 lb, and they had a $3.00 off coupon if it was over 12.5 lb and "fresh". Not exactly the deal of the century, but better than $1.79 lb. On the way there I stopped at another dollar discount store and found pumpkin puree. I ended up buying:
13.5 lb turkey for $18.47
.5 lb pecans for $3.47
Heavy whipping cream $1.49
2 2ltr soda $1.76 ($.88 ea)
1 can pumpkin puree
total at grocery store= $25.89
Plus I figure about $10.00 for all the stuff I had already. So Thanksgiving dinner cost around $36.00. We ate leftovers for 3 days then it was time to be done with it.
We still had a lot of turkey left on the carcass so I cleaned off all the meat, and put it in a large pot to boil. When it was done I again cleaned off any extra meat while discarding the bones. I had several quarts of turkey broth and extra meat for turkey rice soup, enough meat to make turkey sandwiches for my son's lunch for several days, and made turkey noodles (with peas and corn mixed in) for lunch that day.
As much as I hated paying $1.59 lb for the turkey in the end I feel the whole process was a good investment. We had a lovely holiday and enough leftovers to feed us about a week. Not bad for $36.00 bucks, right?
One Frugal Thing I did today-
I made my college age son lunch to take to classes instead of him buying fast food when he is STARVING after class. A turkey sandwich, homemade chocolate chip cookies, cheeto-like cheese puffs from the dollar store and a container of homemade potato salad.
Yummmm!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
One Frugal Thing
It occurred to me that changing your lifestyle is no easy undertaking. It is hard physically, mentally and emotionally. So I wanted to do something that would give me a little boost every day.
I decided to post one frugal thing I have done each day. In that way I can visually see that I am making a real effort to change my ways for the good of my life and family. When I am really struggling I can go back and look at the cumulative effect of all of those "one things" and realize I really am making a difference in my life.
Since I write this each day in the morning the "One Thing" will be from the day before. Here is mine from yesterday.
One Frugal Thing 11/27/2012
In January of this year I moved my little family (18 yr old son, dogs, cat, reptiles and myself) from Southern California, a very warm climate, to Central Oregon, a four season climate. If you have spent any time in Central Oregon you realize very quickly that at least three of those four seasons can be cold (sometimes very cold). After several years in Cali we had become accustom to being comfortably warm all the time. Though I love all four seasons it is uncomfortable to change climates rapidly.
Heating costs are high everywhere. Both electricity and natural gas bills can eat rapidly into an already strained budget. I decided one area I could cut down on was the heating bill. I have generally kept my home at around 70 -71 degrees never really thinking about how it could fluctuate since my digital thermostat will automatically adjust accordingly. Last night I decided to drop my temp down to 66. This may not seem like a huge drop, but I figure baby steps, right? My son's room is naturally warm as he has reptiles with heat elements in their cages. I piled 2 extra blankets on my bed (I like the weight anyway) and brought the dogs all into my room so they were either snuggled on the bed with me (natural little heat boxes), curled up on the carpet (my house has hardwood floors and can be cold for them to lay on) or toasty on their doggie beds.
I slept like a log so I consider this a successful transition and will continue to keep my thermostat at 66 at night for a week. Next week I will try dropping it to 64. During the day when we are home I usually set it at 70, but the furnace does not kick on very often since I am cooking or running the dryer and the house stays warm on it's own. I am leaving at 66 today and see how it feels.
I know this sounds like a small thing, but I figure the pyramids were built one block at a time, right? I will let you know next month how it effects my electric and gas bills.
I decided to post one frugal thing I have done each day. In that way I can visually see that I am making a real effort to change my ways for the good of my life and family. When I am really struggling I can go back and look at the cumulative effect of all of those "one things" and realize I really am making a difference in my life.
Since I write this each day in the morning the "One Thing" will be from the day before. Here is mine from yesterday.
One Frugal Thing 11/27/2012
In January of this year I moved my little family (18 yr old son, dogs, cat, reptiles and myself) from Southern California, a very warm climate, to Central Oregon, a four season climate. If you have spent any time in Central Oregon you realize very quickly that at least three of those four seasons can be cold (sometimes very cold). After several years in Cali we had become accustom to being comfortably warm all the time. Though I love all four seasons it is uncomfortable to change climates rapidly.
Heating costs are high everywhere. Both electricity and natural gas bills can eat rapidly into an already strained budget. I decided one area I could cut down on was the heating bill. I have generally kept my home at around 70 -71 degrees never really thinking about how it could fluctuate since my digital thermostat will automatically adjust accordingly. Last night I decided to drop my temp down to 66. This may not seem like a huge drop, but I figure baby steps, right? My son's room is naturally warm as he has reptiles with heat elements in their cages. I piled 2 extra blankets on my bed (I like the weight anyway) and brought the dogs all into my room so they were either snuggled on the bed with me (natural little heat boxes), curled up on the carpet (my house has hardwood floors and can be cold for them to lay on) or toasty on their doggie beds.
I slept like a log so I consider this a successful transition and will continue to keep my thermostat at 66 at night for a week. Next week I will try dropping it to 64. During the day when we are home I usually set it at 70, but the furnace does not kick on very often since I am cooking or running the dryer and the house stays warm on it's own. I am leaving at 66 today and see how it feels.
I know this sounds like a small thing, but I figure the pyramids were built one block at a time, right? I will let you know next month how it effects my electric and gas bills.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Reality Check
Every book, article or blog I have ever read about budgeting and getting control of your finances has said the same thing. The first step is to figure out what you have coming in and what you have going out. This makes perfect sense, except sometimes it is easier said then done.
The first part is easy. Most people know EXACTLY how much money they have coming IN. I know I do. Since I was laid off of my job I only have 2 regular sources of income and combined they only come to $1241.00 a month (just for the record, I am not on welfare and I do not receive any maintenance/alimony from my 19 yr marriage). I know I am blessed to have this much without a regular job and I am not complaining. Even though, I still wake up every morning in the midst of an anxiety attack, with my stomach tied into knots. I have a very large amount of debt from both my marriage and the last 3 1/2 yrs of ignorance, depression and my own poor choices. I also run my household on this amount, which consists of an 18 yr old son, 4 dogs, 3 cats, 3 reptiles and a very tiny mouse named Maryjane.
The second part is a lot tougher. If you normally pay for most everything with a debit/credit card it will be easier for you to track as you can just pull up your statements. I pay cash for almost everything, with the exception of a couple of bills I pay online with a debit Visa. This is a lot harder to keep track of, but none the less I did it. The recommended time frame is 30 days to get an accurate read on your spending habits, but if you can do it for several months (or backtrack your expenses for a couple of months) you will have an even better picture of your spending habits.
The results were a real eye opener for me and I bet yours will be for you as well. I was amazed at the things I did on a daily basis without even thinking about it that wasted small amounts of money. When I added them up it came to a large amount of money each month. Most were things I did in the name of saving time because I thought I was too busy to do the frugal alternative. A lot were food related or gas related.
Here are a few examples:
Stopping at the local Tigermart every morning for something to drink on my way out of town.($1.00 - 4.00)
Stopping at the fast food place within an hour of leaving home to get my son something to eat
because I didn't have time to cook/make something before we left. ($5.00-10.00)
Sometimes stopping at another fast food place 4/5 hours later after my son is done with classes (he goes to the local college a couple of towns away and commutes) because he is STARVING when he is done and I am tired and still have a 42 mile drive before we get home. ($5.00-10.00)
Driving either 25 or 42 miles into the larger towns on days we don't HAVE to for relatively unimportant errands or to visit friends. ($10.00 - 25.00)
Stopping at the grocery store to peruse the meat section for dinner since I have no idea what I feel like making for dinner. ($5.00 - 25.00)
Well, you get the idea. I was making terrible choices and had no clue. If you have not done the 30 day tracking of your expenses, I truly recommend sucking it up and doing it. It will give you some ammunition to use against yourself and the forces of evil (just kidding) that are driving you into financial ruin. It will also give you something factual to show your spouse and children when you start tightening your economic belt and they start to squeal. If you are out of money before the of the month, or just living paycheck to paycheck without any reserve it is time to make different choices.
I thought those choices would mean feeling deprived and living a "lesser" life but I was wrong. I am so new into this "frugal lifestyle" but I already can see that life is better, both financially and emotionally. I feel a lot more in control, my son feels better physically without all the fast food, my house is less chaotic and cleaner (that was a real surprise bonus) and for the first time in a long time I can see a little glimmer at the end of the tunnel.
I did the 30 day tracking the old fashioned way (an envelope for receipts, and a piece of paper then transferred info onto a notebook page) but here is a link to a website that has a free tool to help you track your budget.
http://www.billwinston.org/uploadedFiles/BWM/Spiritual_Resources/Budgeting%20Worksheets%20.pdf
If you are reading this it is probably because you are in the same place as I am, and need to do SOMETHING. This is the first step to SOMETHING.
Let me know what you come up with and if it is as big of a shock to you as my was to me.
Hope to hear from you, thanks, Tina
The first part is easy. Most people know EXACTLY how much money they have coming IN. I know I do. Since I was laid off of my job I only have 2 regular sources of income and combined they only come to $1241.00 a month (just for the record, I am not on welfare and I do not receive any maintenance/alimony from my 19 yr marriage). I know I am blessed to have this much without a regular job and I am not complaining. Even though, I still wake up every morning in the midst of an anxiety attack, with my stomach tied into knots. I have a very large amount of debt from both my marriage and the last 3 1/2 yrs of ignorance, depression and my own poor choices. I also run my household on this amount, which consists of an 18 yr old son, 4 dogs, 3 cats, 3 reptiles and a very tiny mouse named Maryjane.
The second part is a lot tougher. If you normally pay for most everything with a debit/credit card it will be easier for you to track as you can just pull up your statements. I pay cash for almost everything, with the exception of a couple of bills I pay online with a debit Visa. This is a lot harder to keep track of, but none the less I did it. The recommended time frame is 30 days to get an accurate read on your spending habits, but if you can do it for several months (or backtrack your expenses for a couple of months) you will have an even better picture of your spending habits.
The results were a real eye opener for me and I bet yours will be for you as well. I was amazed at the things I did on a daily basis without even thinking about it that wasted small amounts of money. When I added them up it came to a large amount of money each month. Most were things I did in the name of saving time because I thought I was too busy to do the frugal alternative. A lot were food related or gas related.
Here are a few examples:
Stopping at the local Tigermart every morning for something to drink on my way out of town.($1.00 - 4.00)
Stopping at the fast food place within an hour of leaving home to get my son something to eat
because I didn't have time to cook/make something before we left. ($5.00-10.00)
Sometimes stopping at another fast food place 4/5 hours later after my son is done with classes (he goes to the local college a couple of towns away and commutes) because he is STARVING when he is done and I am tired and still have a 42 mile drive before we get home. ($5.00-10.00)
Driving either 25 or 42 miles into the larger towns on days we don't HAVE to for relatively unimportant errands or to visit friends. ($10.00 - 25.00)
Stopping at the grocery store to peruse the meat section for dinner since I have no idea what I feel like making for dinner. ($5.00 - 25.00)
Well, you get the idea. I was making terrible choices and had no clue. If you have not done the 30 day tracking of your expenses, I truly recommend sucking it up and doing it. It will give you some ammunition to use against yourself and the forces of evil (just kidding) that are driving you into financial ruin. It will also give you something factual to show your spouse and children when you start tightening your economic belt and they start to squeal. If you are out of money before the of the month, or just living paycheck to paycheck without any reserve it is time to make different choices.
I thought those choices would mean feeling deprived and living a "lesser" life but I was wrong. I am so new into this "frugal lifestyle" but I already can see that life is better, both financially and emotionally. I feel a lot more in control, my son feels better physically without all the fast food, my house is less chaotic and cleaner (that was a real surprise bonus) and for the first time in a long time I can see a little glimmer at the end of the tunnel.
I did the 30 day tracking the old fashioned way (an envelope for receipts, and a piece of paper then transferred info onto a notebook page) but here is a link to a website that has a free tool to help you track your budget.
http://www.billwinston.org/uploadedFiles/BWM/Spiritual_Resources/Budgeting%20Worksheets%20.pdf
If you are reading this it is probably because you are in the same place as I am, and need to do SOMETHING. This is the first step to SOMETHING.
Let me know what you come up with and if it is as big of a shock to you as my was to me.
Hope to hear from you, thanks, Tina
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