Plastic Shopping Bags

Yesterday's trip to the store resulted in many plastic bags.  I had left my reusable bags in the car.  As I unpacked the groceries, I again thought about ways I could reuse the bags.  I must admit I only have about 4 ways I currently reuse these annoying things.

• liner for bathroom trash containers
• pick up bags for doggie droppings when walking
• bagging up items for donation (when boxes aren't readily available or amounts are too small)
• trash bag for car

In all of these ways, the bags will likely end up in the landfill.  Today, I've decided it would have been better to walk back out to the car to get my reusable bags.  Reviewing the above list, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to line the bathroom trash container.  99.9% of what goes in there is dry materials.  Those can easily be dumped and the container wiped down as needed.  It also doesn't make much sense to dispose of car trash in one when I can simply pay more attention and throw the trash in receptacles along my way (or simply quit bringing trash items into my car!).  So, I have decided to only keep some on hand for the doggie walks and small donations.  All the rest will be taken back to the store for recycling.  

Reusable shopping bags saves money (some retailers give a credit for every reusable bag used), clutter and unnecessary items going into the landfill.

Gifts on the Sly - This is almost too easy!

I just did the calculations.  With what this account of 'found money' is to cover - birthdays this year for my son, my daughter, my son-in-law and my 5 grandsons, and the budgets I have set for them this year - $100 for my son still at home, $50 each for my daughter and son-in-law, and $25 for each grandson - I only need to 'find' another $115.57 to fully fund this account - and it is only January!

Maybe it can be done...

Early during last pay period, I unexpectedly decided to pick up a second class this semester.  Since I emptied my Incidentals account in my Emergency Savings account at the end of the year, I had to absorb those fees into my regular budget or take money out of savings.  I refused to do the latter, as it wasn't what I defined as an emergency.  So, I decided to pay a bit more attention on my spending.  


Last week, I had a 'day of finances.'  I reviewed about 1/2 of my spending lines for unnecessary spending.  Since I do this about once a year, I wasn't expecting much.  However, one item was cut in half.  Not a huge savings - just under $9 a month, but why pay that $9 to someone else when I can do much more with it?  


Yesterday was pay day.  That meant it was time to review what was spent during the last pay period, shift money as needed and finalize this pay period's spending plan.  I knew I had been fairly careful, but I surprised even myself! 


Not only was I able to absorb the class expenses, but I was also able to put the allotted amounts into my Incidentals account AND pay almost $100 extra towards my credit card pay off!


Yep, I was excited!  I might actually be able to cut that 5.5 years (expected length of time to save for and finish remodeling this house) way down!


Today, in between reading 33 pages for one of my classes, I'll be working on reviewing the other 1/2 of my expenses.  Wonder what I'll find there...

Wheat FREE - Moving on along!

Just about a week and a half into the wheat free again thing and things are going well.  We aren't 100% wheat free yet - more like 80%, but I'll take that!  One night, my son really wanted Chinese.  Sesame Chicken, to be exact.  My guess is the breading on the chicken was wheat based.  Then, last night, he really wanted Wataburger.  I could have said NO either, or both times, but I've learned from the last attempts at suddenly pulling him 100% wheat free.  I have found it best to allow 'cheat days' every now and then.  It helps him realize how much and how often he can have something with processed wheat in it and how it makes him feel.  


A bonus to the change - I actually spent LESS on food!


Now, if only we can get his sleep schedule back on track!

Forget about it chicken - can't get much easier than this!

I'm thinking the crock pot (seldom used before) just may become my new best kitchen friend!  I've made this twice now - each a little bit differently - and each time it turned out a hit in my house.  I found it extremely easy and my son found it very tasty.


Here you go:


1 crock pot
1 whole chicken
various seasonings or veggies
-one time I filled the cavity with chopped carrots and celery and topped with a bit of minced garlic
-one time I filled the cavity with chopped onion, carrots and celery
no water or anything needed


Empty the cavity of the chicken.  Season as desired.  Cook on low over night or all day (about 10 hours).  The chicken will pretty much fall off the bones!


The possible uses for this are only as endless as your imagination.

Wheat FREE - working on day 5!

Well, the son survived a stay at a friend's house still wheat free!  Having cooked 2 whole chickens yesterday, tonight is as 'simple' as throwing together a side or two.  


He's feeling better and my clothes are already fitting better.  This will be a win-win...provided I can keep up with the cooking requirements of feeding a teen boy!

Gifts on the Sly - Movin' on up!

So, who thought this challenge was a bit crazy?  Hard to do?  


Well, at last post, the balance was $35.16


Today, I received $107 FREE money for opening a checking account back in November.


I've decided to now use that account to hold the Gifts on the Sly money, so add in the small balance of $3.32 in the account.


Add in $50 in FREE gift cards - thank you MyPoints!


Toss in the loose change gathered over the past 6 weeks - $13.95


The new available total is.....$209.43!


Next birthday is my son-in-law...stationed in South Korea.  He will likely get the gift cards.

$107 FREE Money!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, ING (an online bank) had a great promo going on.  If you opened an account during the specified time, and then made 5 debit card purchases within 45 days, they would deposit $107 into your account.  There was nothing to lose.  My money had to sit somewhere and I paid by debit card anyway, so I signed up.  My deposit was minimal - just enough to cover 5 small charges.  Then, I waited.  


I checked the account today - deposit was made!


So, I received $107 for about 3 minutes of my time - not a bad return!


Now, what to do with the money?


Well, I could do many things with it - remodeling account, emergency savings account, pay off a bill, splurge on myself, BUT...remember my 'found money' challenge?  Any 'found' or 'free' money goes to my Gifts on the Sly account to cover birthday gifts for the year.


Yep, that's where this will go.  Thinking about it, I believe that's what this account will be used for.  That way, I can deposit the change and not carry it around.  Speaking of...I need to go update the amount in that account with a few recent 'finds.'

A day of finances - medical bills

Okay, one last thing to look at for the day.  Then I'm calling it quits and going for a walk!


Medical bills!  


They come fast after a procedure and they expect you to pay just as fast.  However, I have found many mistakes on these in the past and refuse to pay until I've had adequate time to review and verify the charges.  That is usually not fast enough for some office and they then threaten to turn the bill over to collections.  I say, "go for it!"  Work with me and you will get paid faster.  Threaten me or get testy and rude and you will get put at the bottom of the list.  


Currently, I have just over $2,300 in reviewed and approved medical bills to work into the spending plan.  However, there are many more still needing my review.  I must admit, I haven't been very active in that area lately.  Just trying to get a handle on some other things, I guess. 


Before it hit that amount, I had designated "x" amount of my spending plan to go towards paying these.  Each one gets a minimum payment monthly, with the lowest balance getting a little bit extra to get it paid off faster.  The intent - once the smallest is paid for, that amount then gets applied to the next smallest.  You've heard of the snowball approach before, I'm sure.  


I use the same approach with credit cards, but out of a separate 'money bucket.'  Once those are paid off, that amount will shift down to the medical bills.  


How long will it take to pay this off, I've yet to sit down and calculate that.  However, I expect the amount due to grow as I finish reviewing the bills from my son's recent surgery.  I need to shift more money over to these areas, but that will have to wait for me to finish my review.

A day of finances - Netflix

We were with Blockbuster until they closed all of their stores around us.  Then we switched over to Netflix.  Not too long ago, Netflix changed their plans.  I didn't actively change anything, so I got shifted to the 'Unlimited Streaming and 1 DVD out at a time' plan.  It is an auto-draft from my account, so I decided to take a look at it today.


My son and I both use the streaming, so that stays.  However, the 1 DVD - well, I've had the same DVD sitting here to watch for a month now.  That means I paid $7.99 to watch just this one movie (that I have yet to watch).  That doesn't make me happy!  So, I'm changing the plan to 'Unlimited Streaming' only.  That will cut my monthly bill in half.  


Now, there are many movies I'd like to see that are DVD only.  Guess I'll have to find an alternative source to borrow these from or gather them and then get the DVD subscription for a month and knock them out.  With me starting 2 classes tomorrow, that won't be any time soon.


Oh, and perfect timing!  New billing cycle starts in 2 days!


It may only be a savings of $8.65 (incl. tax) per month, but that adds up to $103.80 for the year.  That is just a few dollars short of covering 1 class at the community college!

A day of finances - cell phone and a good reason to stay organized

The next bill due this pay period is my cell phone.  I know this, though I can't lay my hands on the current bill.  I moved my desk a few months ago to prepare for the living room remodeling and things haven't been organized since!

So, I had this bright idea to go online.  I click on 'set up an account.'  It tells me I already have an account set up.  Really?  Hmm, guess it was set up when I got the phone/service last year.  I've never accessed my account online.  Next, I click 'account name reminder.'  It asks if I want it to my phone or email.  I chose 'phone' and enter my phone number - assuming it would text it to me.  Ha!  The screen then tells me it has been sent to my account email.  This would be the email account that was set up when I got this phone/service because it required a gmail account (and mine is a yahoo account).  That would be fine and wonderful...IF I ever used that account, therefore remembering that password!

Then it dawns on me...they linked my gmail account in my phone.  Okay, grab the phone and touch the little gmail button.  Ah...look...email.  All OLD.  WAIT.  Oh, a screen pops up telling me it isn't set to 'sync' and 'update' automatically.  What?  It did before this latest not-so-great update they pushed out recently.  Do I want to 'sync' or 'update?'  I just want access to the stupid email that was just sent.

Success!  Email received.  Username is ........ Yep, that was set up by the service tech, not me.  Okay, back to the website.  Enter the username.  Let's try a default password.  Waiting...

Yes!  Almost there!  Of course, there has to be a pop up screen first.  Do I want to go paperless?  Well, at this point, that would be wonderful...IF you will send it to the email of MY choice.  Let's see....

Oh, wow!  Sprint will begin charging $1.99 a month for a detailed paper statement!  That's okay - I only received a summary bill anyway.  I already know who I call.

Yeah!  I can have it sent to my yahoo account.  Okay, I'll sign up.  That done, can I please now see my current status?

Okay, there!  Bill paid!  While I was there, I grabbed the information and entered it on my Emergency Information Worksheet.  Then, I shot off an email to customer service regarding the inquiries I had about my account information (verifying employer discount is intact and getting contract end date) and about the phone service issues I've been having.  We shall see what comes of that, but for now, this service is now all caught up - nice and neat.

A day of finances - electric

Next up on the review/pay is the electric bill.  My payment is on time, but I wanted to check out a few things anyway.  Here's what I found:


-late charge is 5% (this has been noted on my spending plan worksheet)
-my current contract expires late March (this has been listed on my March To Do list)
-company does offer a budget billing plan


Now, I was on the budget billing plan with my previous provider for years and it was very beneficial.  When I saw the new one was offering this now, I must admit I thought about signing up.  This would even out my billing, BUT I am in the lower billing season since I'm not using my a/c.  For now, I think I will keep my budgeted amount where it is (which is remarkably close to what the budget billing amount would be), and push any 'left over' cash to paying off the credit cards.  


Account is current, late fees and renewal time have been noted accordingly, and access information for website is entered on my Emergency Information Worksheet.  


The only thing left to do to lower this bill is to reduce the usage, but that's a different post!

A day of finances - my mortgage

Since today is a company holiday, I decided to use it to jump start my quest to cut the 5.5 years down...WAY down, to a hopeful 2 years!


1st up - verify bank accounts (which led to the previous post)
2nd - pay the remaining bills due this pay period


The mortgage was first on that list.  Unfortunately, I put it off too long.  I had the money in the account, but just didn't get around to mailing the payment before the grace period was up.  That means I am adding a late fee of $26.80 to the payment.  


Completely my fault, completely avoidable.  So, I have to spend less in another area of my spending plan this month or put $26.80 less towards the remodeling project.  Given my goal, I'm voting for the first option.  


While in the area of mortgage, I decided it was worth a few minutes to make sure everything else was neat and tidy with this creditor.  Apparently, their records show I've been late 1 other time at some point over the last 6 months, so a phone call to the company is next on my list.
................................

Okay, after a call to verify, I agree.  They show my December payment was late and my bank records agree.  Family came in town and I got side-tracked.  So, another check has been written to take care of that - all caught up!


While on the call, I also verified my new payment amount (effective beginning March) and was excited to find it will only increase $6.77 a month!


Last item to resolve while on the call...access to their website.  With the remodeling going on, I've misplaced the little card they sent to use for log in.  A new one will be mailed tomorrow.  Once received, the information will be added to my Emergency Information Worksheet.


My homeowner's insurance and property taxes are included with my monthly payment.  Both have been reviewed and verified to be reasonable.  The only way to keep this cost low(er) is to avoid that pesky late fee.


Now, my largest monthly bill is all nice and neat.

Savings Accounts

When setting up a savings account, there are many more options available today than in years past.  Many brick building banks are now charging for withdrawals or requiring a minimum balance to be kept to avoid periodic service fees.  Also, interest rates are minimal (.01% at my bank as of today).  While it may be okay to keep a small amount of 'emergency funds' in such an account, there are other options.


Several years ago, I realized I could get a better rate with an online bank.  Opening deposit was minimal - $1 at that time, and there were no fees.  I wasn't sure how it all worked, but for $1 it was worth looking into.


While I have since switched from that first online bank (found a better interest rate), I have continued keeping the majority of my savings online.  Right now, I have 3 accounts at one bank.


Emergency Savings (for unexpected car repairs, medical deductibles, etc.)
Remodeling Account (this is a money market account with a debit card, but earns the same rate as the savings account)
Incidentals Account (this holds the accruing monies for expected expenses such as tires, vet visits, clothing, eye glasses, etc.)


The down side of the online banking is the transfer time - usually 2 days.  However, at any time, I can transfer the funds needed to my money market account and have immediate access with my debit card.


Interest rate on these accounts - 0.84% as of today!  Much better than the brick building banks!  


Remember, the monies going into these accounts are for short term issues - not long term investments.

Time to find the accelerator!

What did I do today?  I figured out, at the current rate in my spending plan, it will take 5.5 years to finish remodeling my house.  Guess it's time to step it up a notch!  

Wheat FREE - Made it to day two!

Left on his own, he still managed to tackle another day wheat free!  This week will be a little more challenging as he will be hanging with friends on and off all weekend.  Fingers crossed!

Wheat FREE - Finally, one full day!

Driving home from work today, I was tired.  It would have been really easy to pull into Whataburger and order dinner.  However - BUNS - and I don't think the kiddo would be too excited about a bunless Whataburger.  So I sucked it up, drove home and cooked dinner.  Day #3 of wheat free dinners, I might add.  Then came the question -

Me: "Son, what did you eat today?"

Son: "Um.."

Son:  "..a banana, an apple and some leftovers."

>SCORE<  NO WHEAT!

I can mark today on the calendar as his (once again) first wheat free day!

Um, sigh...

My dear teen son has been home sick the past few days (again).  It seems he consumed too much wheat over the holidays and his system, once again, turned on him.  So, here's part of what went down yesterday when I got home from the office:

Me:  Hey son, how are you feeling?
Son:  Not much better.  What's for dinner?  Oh, never mind.  I forgot you had a chicken in the crock pot.
Me:  What time did you get up?
Son:  About 2 (that would be p.m. for those curious).
Me:  What have you had to eat today?
Son:  Pop Tarts
Me:  Um, son, you aren't supposed to eat the Pop Tarts.
Son:  Why?
Me:  Um, what are they made out of?
Son:  Uh...I don't...oh...really?  They have wheat in them?  (heavy sigh)

Obviously lots of work to do here!  First, I need to remove (again) all of the wheat products from the house (except for the basic flour as I owe a few friends a cake before I toss that out).  That way, he will know whatever is in the house is safe for him.  Then, I need to get really serious about finding foods he can eat (at home and out), educating him on what to look for and teaching him how to cook.

Trying to change eating habits for a 17 year old has been - well - challenging to say the least!

Dear Neighbors, I'll be bringing over a box of food tomorrow.