Updates and Evaluations

I've been reevaluating my ability to save money and taking a hard look at my decisions. Its easy to say I'm paying off debt, but a completely different reality when I realized I was only partially committed. I'm happy to say that I've started to use public transportation and even walking to work. It's saving me at least $8 a day in parking. I've been working at packing my lunch and breakfast which is saving me $5 for breakfast and $12 for lunch. I'm making sure I get my money's worth out of my gym membership frequently making workout dates with friends rather than going out for dinner or coffee. Finally, I've picked up some side work on the weekends which is bringing in some much needed extra cash.

And In One Moment Everything Can Change...

In the last few weeks there have been some pretty heavy issues that I've been dealing with. First, my grandmother passed away. While we become more accepting of death as we get older, it can still take us by surprise. I can thank my grandma for being one of the people that taught me the value of being frugal. She didn't have much money to raise a family with 5 kids and things were tough. After the funeral I heard many stories of my grandma taking care of not only her family, but others that were struggling as well. She was known to stretch a frugal meal to feed an extra family. The most important thing to her was family.

On the flip side, this morning I found out that my brokerage closed its doors Monday at 5:00pm. The first thing that springs to mind is the Bear Sterns fiasco and the investors that have lost millions. Luckily (or unfortunately,) my savings is no where near that. I did a bit of research and have been assured that my money is in safekeeping with the brokerage's backer. I can transfer it to a new brokerage at any time.

Tomorrow is inevitable and there is no excuse for poor planning today. The things I've learned from both of these events are:

• Make sure retirement accounts are protected with reputable companies.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions when the market is getting weird.
• Diversify! If all the eggs are in one basket there is a ton more risk. Ask the investors in Enron, PanAm, and Bear Sterns.
• Start early, but its never too late to start.
• You can always stretch a meal help someone in need.
• Resourcefulness is the basis of frugality.

Yeah! Its Friday!!

Some people look forward to the weekends. Others dread it. The perspective changes if you are up to your eyeballs in debt, counting the days until the next payday, and hoping to god that the check you wrote hasn't hit the bank yet. After a few weeks on the debt reduction trail it gets a little easier and hopefully you're not hiding from the creditors phone calls anymore.

Now is the time when it gets a bit more difficult, because it can be frustrating living on a really tight budget. Friends are going out, shopping, spending money without a care. You want to participate, but temptation is hard. I go through phases where I just want to throw the budget out the door and splurge. I want to go to that movie, have dinner out with friends, buy that cute shirt. Luckily, this frustration isn't a constant and I know if I can just ride it out, I'll be able to focus again. Budgets are like diets, if you are too strict, you are bound to splurge.

Now is the time to pull out that list of inexpensive entertainment options. Local attractions often have free days. Parks may sponsor plays or concerts. The local farmer's market is great for people watching and may also have a local chef giving a cooking lesson or band playing music. Try the library which is a great place for families and often host a story hour or craft time. Its also a great place to rent a movie for a lot less than your local movie rental store.

Today I received a reimbursement check from work for $38.64. That will go towards my emergency fund rather than debt reduction.

Holiday Season Challenge - Planet Friendly Wrapping

For this season, I've made a goal for myself to use only planet friendly wrapping. Think reduce, reuse, recycle. Instead of wasting wrapping paper that's been chemically treated and ribbon that is made out materials that won't break down in the landfill, consider other options.

Reduce -
- Instead of buying rolls and rolls of paper just to get different designs, swap old patterns with friends to get variety.
- Use containers or materials that can be reused for other purposes, cloth bags that can be used again, a kitchen towel tied with a ribbon, or a decorative bowl.

Reuse -
- Save decorated bags and reuse them for other presents.
- Packing materials can be reused over and over again. My office gets a lot of gift baskets. Once everything has been eaten, claimed, and picked over, I grab the seltzer (the shredded paper used for filler) before its thrown away to reuse for packing or my own baskets.

Recycle -
- Use the end of newspaper rolls as wrapping paper and let kids decorate it or pull out your crayons and try a doodle or two yourself.
- Use those great paper bags with handles that you get from stores and cover up the logo with a decorative, fabric cut out.

Even if you only make one adjustment in your tradition it will have a big impact not just on the planet, but also on your budget!

When Frugal is a Waste of Money

I returned a pair of shoes today. I purchased them at the Nordstrom's Rack which is like an outlet for Nordstrom's. I know from inside sources that the Rack has buyers for the store in addition to the merchandise that didn't sell or went out of season from Nordstrom's. I needed to purchase a pair of black shoes for work that I could walk anywhere in.

Confession time - I have been known to purchase a pair of shoes because they were a good deal when they didn't really meet my need. The pair I returned were sensible but a bit big in the foot which I justified because I could wear socks. They also pinched a bit across the top of the shoe. Again I justified it with the idea they would stretch out.

When I got home, I left the shoes in the bag to give myself a chance to think about my purchase. (It's kind of a backwards wait 24 hour rule.) The more I thought about the shoes the more I realized that I had just cleared a few pairs of shoes out of my closet that had the same problem. They kinda worked, but were going to be painful to break in so I kept them in the closet for another day (and another... and another...) Finally I decided to put them on EBay and try to recoup my loses.

So what does my shoe shopping habits have to do with Frugality? A bargain isn't a bargain if you don't get good value from the purchase. Better it is to spend a little bit more for something that doesn't have to be "broken in". Make sure to count the number of times used, costs of owning, and length of time the item lasts in order to get a better idea of true cost.

Paper or Plastic - Neither Cloth

If you're looking for a way to cut your grocery bill consider alternatives to paper products.
The only paper product I purchase is toilet paper. (I'm just not willing to take on alternatives.)
Kitchen towels make great napkins and they're bigger than normal cloth napkins as well as cheaper. My family reuses them through a few meals unless they're particularly soiled. I don't buy Kleenex either. (Well, maybe when I have a really bad cold.) Hankies are easy to wash and environmentally friendly. Just make sure they have a decent thickness. Paper towels are a waste of money. Keep old kitchen towels for cleaning up spills. Cut up old t-shirts for dusting, polishing, and cleaning rags.

This posting was inspired by Being Frugal. To see more ideas, click here.

The "Reduce A Bill" Challenge

Thanks to the inspiration of Working For Financial Freedom and Being Frugal, I am joining their challenge for October. Originally inspired by Being Frugal's ability to lower her grocery bill through determined coupon use and organization, Working For Financial Freedom has created the "Reduce A Bill" Challenge. The idea is to focus on one bill or budget area to lower. Working For Financial Freedom is going to line dry her laundry for the month of October.

While reading through some of the comments, I found a response from Heather who is going to do 10 No Spend days for the month. These are days where you spend absolutely no money. This sounds right up my alley since I find that there is always a dollar here or there that ends up getting spent. Even on my best day I tend to forget about paying for parking somewhere.

If you're interested in participating, check out either site and record your goal in the comment section. Don't forget to think about what you are going to use that money you have saved for. Personally, I'm working on that $1,000 emergency fund.

It's Nice to Know Even Experts Get Frugal Frustration

How much is too much frugality? Like living a green lifestyle its not a one size fits all. Each of us needs to evaluate what we are willing to do to reach our goals in saving money, getting out of debt, or becoming more earth conscious.

Laura Rowley over at Yahoo!Finance struggles with her husband on whether or not to take a brown bag to work in this week's article "Some Thoughts for Your Pennies." While assessing what is important and what isn't important her husband believes that buying his lunch during the week is not only an important part of building relationships with clients, but is also a big networking tool on the days he doesn't have a client lunch. Laura Rowley points out that at $8 per day this is a waste of resources, but much of our choices are based on priorities. She has finally conceded not to bother him about the subject. (btw, for anyone wondering what the big deal is for spending only $8 per day... that's $2,080 per year that could be directed towards debt or savings.)

Laura Rowley advises not to underestimate the power of the penny. Little changes throughout our budgets can reap big rewards. If you can save $.28/day that is a little over $100 per year. If you calculate David Bach's Latte factor, going without one $4.50 Latte per day is equivalent to saving $1642.50 per year. In my case, going without one $.50 can of Coke per day is equivalent to $182.50 per year.

Are you asking yourself yet why I included becoming more earth conscious in evaluating what we are willing to do to increase our savings and eliminate debt? The answer is simple. On many levels taking a bit of advice on being earth friendly will also be budget friendly. Changing out normal incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs will save money every month as will changing out shower heads to water saving, low flow heads and placing a plastic bottle filled with water in your toilet tank. Each of these steps will save you a few cents with each use, but the savings adds up in no time. For more information on saving money and being earth conscious, check out the New American Dream website.