The Roof Is Falling In…
Posted on May 14, 2008
Literally. We need a roof - yesterday. Since we moved in 5 years ago. We knew it then, we’re doing it now. It is going to cost $9,000. We have a 1 story house - not huge but not small (1400 sq. feet - another 1000 in the finished basement) with a 2 car garage and a black top roof over one of the kids bedrooms. Not pretty - it’s a fairly large roof.
It started leaking again a couple of weeks ago under the black top so we started gathering quotes. We both work full-time and my hubby doesn’t have the expertise to do it completely himself so we need to hire someone. Luckily, friends of ours use someone that is very reasonable. We had 2 quotes in the ballpark of $11,000-$13,000 without a container to take the trash away. The $9,000 includes the container and haul away.
Now finances. We have around $5400 that we can pay towards it this week so we need to come up with the other $2600. Not bad - could be worse. I could raid our ING account (and owe a $1000) but don’t really want to if we can pay this off by August through hubby working overtime and saving pretty heavily. I won’t be working (teacher) so gas cost will be non-existant and we’ll find lots of fun free things to do with the kids.
I have a personal loan line though the credit union so I am considering paying the balance that way and paying it off in 2-3 months. If the roof could wait I would rather save it and then pay cash but that is not really an option at this point. Sometimes credit is a good thing if needed, used and paid back quickly. We’ll still have some cushion in the emergency fund and have to build that back up as well. Off to get a permit…
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Free Chicken at McD’s on Thursday
Posted on May 12, 2008
Fun Being Frugal - McDonald’s is offering a FREE Southern Style Chicken Biscuit for breakfast or Sandwich (until 7pm) with the purchase of a medium or large drink on Thursday, May 15th. Haven’t been there in a while, may have to stop in for a free meal with my morning coffee. By the way, I’m not big on McDonald’s but free is great in my book.
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Eat Better - For Less!
Posted on May 11, 2008
Lately I have been checking out the Food Network looking for new recipes because we’re getting sick of the same meals. Doing this, I take a look in the recipeat every ingredient and determine the answer to these questions:
1. Can I substitute something that is healthier (i.e. wheat flour for white, fresh/frozen veggies for canned)
2. Can I substitute something that is cheaper (beans for beef, tilapia for a more expensive fish)
3. Will these substitutions be alright in the mix of the recipe. I can generally tell, mainly due to so many years in food service in college and afterward.
Some other things I have been doing lately are:
4. Looking through the pantry and cupboards, figuring out how to use some of the stuff that has been in there for a while. Some have talked about pantry weeks, it is difficult for me to do that with 2 young children (milk) and a husband that loves fresh fruit/veggies; so I find some ingredients that I want to use for the next week and build some of my meals from them.
5. I’ll buy big chunks of cheese and grate them myself. I then put them in the freezer for later use because cheese lasts a long time and does very well once it comes out. Grating the cheese yourself decreases the price, sometimes in half. We also make a ham once a month and slice it ourselves, putting what we will not eat immediately in the freezer and using it for sandwiches.
6. Old but true - plan your meals for a week or two and buy what you need. This includes breakfast, lunch and snacks. Even if you get one or two other things, a list keeps you focused.
7. Eggs were on sale this week for $1.58 at Price chopper. I bought 2 dozen and plan on using them for snacks (boiled), sandwiches (egg salad) and a couple of meals over the next week or so. Each egg is only .13, even if I had 2 scrambled with a little milk, american cheese, salt, and pepper that is less than $.35 for a meal. A lot cheaper than ground beef in chile for $2-4 a meal. Moral: use eggs and beans whenever possible. Not only is it cheaper, it is better on the environment and better on your body, most times.
8. Use the internet to help you use the food in your fridge. I go to google, type recipes with the ingredients I want to use and up pops a bunch of ideas for me to choose from. Voila! Instant meal. Like I said earlier, the Food Network is great for this too.
» Filed Under Green, Home, Household, Save | 1 Comment
Happy Mother’s Day!
Posted on May 11, 2008
A little OT but worth it. I am not a sappy person but this is a wonderful and realistic view of motherhood.
This is for the mothers who have sat up
all night with sick toddlers in their arms,
wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer
wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,
‘It’s okay honey, Mommy’s here.’
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can’t be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at
work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains
on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON’T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
And that when their kids asked, ‘Did you see me, Mom?’ they could say, ‘Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,’ and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn’t find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read ‘Goodnight, Moon’ twice a night for a year. And then read it again, ‘Just one more time.’
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls ‘Mom?’ in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home — or even away
at college — or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good mother anyway?
Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and
sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone
for the very first time?
The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they
are safe again in her home?
Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper
changes and sleep deprivation…
And for mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us…
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray
and never stop being a mother…
Please pass along to all the mothers in your life.
‘Home is what catches you when
you fall - and we all fall.’
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Gas Tax Holiday?
Posted on May 7, 2008
Hillary has done it this time and everyone knows it (although lying about being shot at is even worse). Her gas tax ‘holiday’ for the summer would save the average household $30. Big whoop. She has now lost in North Carolina (no surprise there) and won marginally in Indiana. She needs to drop out of the race NOW so Obama can get his team together for the national election against McCain.
Anyway this is not a political blog and I don’t know enough to make it one; so back to the gas tax break. Polls show that we pay around 3-4% of our income on gas for our vehicles. I have a feeling that number has gone up a little lately whereas our food bills are around 20-24% of our take-home pay. If Obama actually comes through against McCain, I would rather have his $1000 tax credit/incentive/whatever to buy food and other needed items (or payoff debt 
)than $30 for gas.
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Money Calculators
Posted on May 7, 2008
Every once in a while I find myself looking for various calculators dealing with retirement, saving for kid’s college fund, mortgage amoritization, savings accumulation, etc. So I put some of them here to have for my reference and yours. They are a great resource however it is not recommended that you rely to heavily on them, there is nothing like a real-life financial expert/specialist. I will also put them in the sidebar in the next week or so:
Retirement Planner - this one if for the married or partnered set and very detailed down to your investing style.
Bloomberg Retirement Planner - This is more simple, can be done for 1 person and shows if your planning is on track with every value input.
Mortgage - What Can You Afford? - You put values in to tell the calculator how much you can afford and it tells you how much house you can by.
Mortgage - Mortgage calculator that shows amoritazation tables and how extra payments affect the amount you owe over time.
Rent or Buy - I like this calculator because you can play with the sliders to show at what point in time it is more beneficial to own or rent a house. Only problem is that it is based on a 30 year mortgage.
Rent or Buy 2 - Much more detailed and you can input any number (15, 20) for a mortgage.
Investments - Shows the amount your investment will be worth in the future at a specific percent. Very simple.
What calculators do you like or use in your financial planning?
Related Stories:
» Filed Under Home, Household, Money, Save | 1 Comment
Coin Counting Bonanza!
Posted on May 6, 2008
So I go to the bank this weekend with a bag of change to start teaching my little one about saving money. What does the bank tell me? I now have to roll the change because they no longer accept loose coins. They did up till about 3 months ago. Another local bank does not take unrolled coins as well, so I am on a mission to find a grocery store, bank or credit union that takes them (without charging a huge fee) this week to show my daughter how change really adds up! I really do not want to roll change but may have to if my mission is unsuccessful.
http://locator.coinstar.com has a tool that where locate coin machines that are closest to you. The places located near me include:
- Shaws
- Stop and Shop
- Shop Rite
- Price Chopper
All have a service fee associated with them use unless you turn your change into a gift card from one of their sponsors including:
- Starbucks
- Amazon
- Circuit City
- JcPenney
- iTunes
- Borders
- Pier 1
- Eddie Bauer
- Cabelas
- Disney Shopping.com
- Old Navy Card
- AMC
- Linens n’ Things
I would not use this method unless I was by myself and knew what I needed to get.
A number of credit unions in the area offer coin counting for no fee. They are self-service and the machine spits out a receipt to take the teller in order to deposit or cash it. The only hook is you have to belong to the credit union which for most only means $5 in an account. I am starting to look at some of the credit unions for all my banking needs as well (except ING of course) because it looks like they have more favorable rates and lower fees…
I have yet to find a bank but will continue looking, all so far have no service at all or require rolling (ugh).
» Filed Under Home, Household, Save | 4 Comments
Debt - Get Rid Of It!
Posted on May 5, 2008
There are various methods to getting rid of debt. MSN asked readers to share some of their thoughts and strategies for paying down debt. Here’s a few that stand out:
- Start paying debt with the most expensive interest. For example if you have 2 credit cards with interest rates of 11.99% and 9.99%. Pay off the one with 11.99% first and when it is completely gone take the amount you were paying and apply it to the second card, then the personal, car, student loans, and finally the mortgage. This is known as snowballing and one that David Ramsey endorses.
- When you get a raise, apply 50% of it to paying off your debt. A friend of mine did this and had no mortgage (or debt) by the time she was 43. The other 50% can go towards the 401K, Roth or IRA. Some may need to go to gas (sigh) and food.
- Put a percentage of your tax refund and extra escrow money towards debt.
- Learn to do with less and pay off your balances. My grandparents all lived during the Great Depression and could not believe the amount of junk that people accumulate. When we had them over for dinner, my parents would hide stuff so they wouldn’t see it :).
- Sell a more expensive house and buy a cheaper one. Your mortgage will be less and you can pay everything else off that much faster.
- Get a second job to pay off debt then fund for an emergency and finally an investing account with the money.
- Cancel as much as you can: cell phone, cable, internet (yikes!), heat - kidding, though some people keep it at 55 - chilllllyyyy.
- Sell your car for a cheaper, more gas efficient model.
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Free Pedometer - Onward With Getting Healthy!
Posted on May 4, 2008
I talked yesterday about Spark People. A really great site and free alternative to Weight Watcher’s or any other health/food/exercise site that you have to pay for. If you have not checked it out yet, there is no time like the present. So in staying with the ‘get bathing suit ready before summer’ theme this week…
Green Stew found a free pedometer over at Bayer. You sign up for membership (it’s on the right side about 1/2 way down the page) and they send you a member number. Go back to the site and insert your membership number for your free pedometer.
Related Stories:
Spark People - Free Site To Get Healthy!
» Filed Under Exercise, Home | 5 Comments
Spark People - Free Site To Get Healthy!
Posted on May 3, 2008
A while back my mom and I started Weight Watcher’s online. I loved the program and lost weight but not the price tag. I think it was around $39.99 for 3 months. I recently found Spark People. It is very similar to the online weight watcher’s program but is totally free. They do this through sponsors but the ads are barely noticeable. My favorite feature so far is the daily food journal. You input the foods/drinks you have consumed and it calculates fat, calories, etc. for you. I love it! They also have a number of exercise programs that can be individually tailored, weekly grocery lists, recipes, and more. This site is amazing (I am not an affiliate - just a fan). One of the ways I save money is to make a list of weekly meals and plan my grocery shopping accordingly. This site helps you do that quickly. Very cool. So check out Spark People!
» Filed Under Exercise, Home, Household | 2 Comments
