When trying to forge a financial path through the wilderness of money management, it is important to have a goal. A goal gives you a place to work towards and a place to know that you have achieved something in the end. When my 4 children were younger, we had a goal. I wanted to be home with them as much as financially possible. In order to do that, we had to pinch every penny so I wouldn’t have to work full time. In the past few years, as my children grew up, the goals shifted to getting a full time job with benefits and to buying a house.
Today, I realized that I had several vague financial goals. They are not clearly defined. They are also my vague goals. I am married and my husband and I have yet to discuss our goals since we bought our house last year. I don’t know what, if any, financial goals he has. (I tend to think about these things and he doesn’t until I bring up the subject.) We are just floundering around and that isn’t good for us.
Financial goals change over time as your life changes. The goals you had at 25 aren’t the goals you will have at 35 (or even 30). Life is a very fluid, series of events, many of them life altering, and your goals in life, and financially, will change over time. If you are in a committed relationship where you share finances, then it is a good idea to sit down, every so often, and discuss with your partner/spouse what goals you both have. Forging a financial path together is the way to get both people committed to the goals. (It also creates good harmony)
This weekend I hope to sit down with my husband and talk about our financial goals, both short term and long term. When this is done, we will know what must be done to set us on our chosen path.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Frugal Club – First Organizational Meeting!
I have reserved the meeting room in the North East Library on Tuesday, March 23rd, from 6 – 8 p.m. This is to hold the first meeting of the Cecil County Frugal Club. This is an organizational meeting. I am starting the club but I am, in no way, a leader. So, please come out and join me. At this point, I am hoping there are at least a few other people besides me at the meeting! I am bringing a frugal snack and don’t want to have to eat it all myself!
For more information, please read this web site about what a Frugal club is:
http://www.wisebread.com/entertainment-value-start-a-frugal-club
For more information, please read this web site about what a Frugal club is:
http://www.wisebread.com/entertainment-value-start-a-frugal-club
Wee Cycle Mart Comes to Perryville
The Wee Cycle Mart is holding a sale in Perryville at the outlets in the old L.L. Bean store. It is March 12-14. This semi-annual event sounds great and I wish they had this when my kids were young. If you need extra cash then clean out your kids items and sell them on consignment at the mart. Or just attend and buy what you need for the upcoming season.
I have never been to one of these and would love to have someone, who has attended a sale, talk about it in the comments section so we know if they are as good as they seem.
I have never been to one of these and would love to have someone, who has attended a sale, talk about it in the comments section so we know if they are as good as they seem.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Teen Agers and Wants
If you don’t have teen agers, this is still a good article to read. It pertains to wants and needs too!
My 17 year old daughter is going to have surgery next month. Until she has the surgery she needs to manage her pain. Her last trip to the doctor, she didn’t get any pain meds. That night she slept for about 4 hours. Her pain comes and goes but when it is here, she needs something for it. I asked her why she didn’t ask the doctor for pain meds. She told me she didn’t want to cost us any more money. She knows she is costing us a lot and didn’t want us to have to pay out more money.
Two things raced through my mind. The first is “what a horrible parent I am.” The second is “she doesn’t understand that we always have money for needs but often have to do without our wants.”
I apologized to her for making her think that we didn’t have the money for the medication. Then we had a long discussion about wants vs. needs. I told her we don’t have money for her to go with her cheerleading team and stay at a hotel overnight for a game. But I did have money to pay her medical bills. I don’t have money for her to roam around the countryside and use a quarter tank of gas like she did 2 nights ago. But I did have money to buy the pain medications. Then I asked her when we ever did without a need? We often tell her no when she asks for an unnecessary item (like fast food) but we have yet to say there is no money when she needs something.
It is important that teens, especially, understand the difference between wants and needs so they can be good money managers. Self control with money is a big issue at this age. (Self control with anything, really!) To be able to understand and differentiate a want from a need is a very important tool for good money management.
The pain meds cost $6. Less than a fast food meal.
My 17 year old daughter is going to have surgery next month. Until she has the surgery she needs to manage her pain. Her last trip to the doctor, she didn’t get any pain meds. That night she slept for about 4 hours. Her pain comes and goes but when it is here, she needs something for it. I asked her why she didn’t ask the doctor for pain meds. She told me she didn’t want to cost us any more money. She knows she is costing us a lot and didn’t want us to have to pay out more money.
Two things raced through my mind. The first is “what a horrible parent I am.” The second is “she doesn’t understand that we always have money for needs but often have to do without our wants.”
I apologized to her for making her think that we didn’t have the money for the medication. Then we had a long discussion about wants vs. needs. I told her we don’t have money for her to go with her cheerleading team and stay at a hotel overnight for a game. But I did have money to pay her medical bills. I don’t have money for her to roam around the countryside and use a quarter tank of gas like she did 2 nights ago. But I did have money to buy the pain medications. Then I asked her when we ever did without a need? We often tell her no when she asks for an unnecessary item (like fast food) but we have yet to say there is no money when she needs something.
It is important that teens, especially, understand the difference between wants and needs so they can be good money managers. Self control with money is a big issue at this age. (Self control with anything, really!) To be able to understand and differentiate a want from a need is a very important tool for good money management.
The pain meds cost $6. Less than a fast food meal.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Blizzards and Alternatives
We have had 2 major blizzards in the last week. I have been able to save about $70 in gas since I didn't commute to Baltimore for 6 work days! I have also had to use items in my pantry while we were inside and the snow raged or roads were just poor. We also had the power go out for almost 12 hours! That's a big savings on heating oil and electricity. For the record, that is one I could do without.
While I was inside, I came up with an alternative way to repurpose an item and not have to buy something. I also found a way to use a cheaper alternative for another item. As I type this, I have our laptop on top of a wire rack with folding legs for cooling baked goods. We frequently leave the computer on all day and it gets very hot underneath the computer. Not good for the compuer or for what it rests on. I even heard of a hot laptop starting a fire on someone's bed. Instead of buying a stand that you can put it on, I decided to try one of our cooling racks. It works well! Savings $25+.
My other alternative is getting a non-skid mat for under a rug. We recently bought 2, 5' x 7' rugs for $40 each. They were quite the bargain. However,our dog decided she loved the one that we put in the living room. I would often find the rug on the other side of the room. The dog likes to throw herself on the rug and it skids away. I went to Home Depot in search of a non-skid mat to put under the rug. I found the correct size for $39, which is almost what we paid for the rug. I just couldn't spend that amount of money on a mat. Instead, I bought 2 mats measuring 2' x 5' each for $13 each. I put both of these down and they work well. That saved me $13.
I keep looking for alternatives and cheaper ways to do things. I often find other ways of doing things and feel very proud when I do. Keep looking out for alternatives and you will be surprised what you come up with. Write a comment on how you came up with some great, money saving, repurposing or alternatives.
While I was inside, I came up with an alternative way to repurpose an item and not have to buy something. I also found a way to use a cheaper alternative for another item. As I type this, I have our laptop on top of a wire rack with folding legs for cooling baked goods. We frequently leave the computer on all day and it gets very hot underneath the computer. Not good for the compuer or for what it rests on. I even heard of a hot laptop starting a fire on someone's bed. Instead of buying a stand that you can put it on, I decided to try one of our cooling racks. It works well! Savings $25+.
My other alternative is getting a non-skid mat for under a rug. We recently bought 2, 5' x 7' rugs for $40 each. They were quite the bargain. However,our dog decided she loved the one that we put in the living room. I would often find the rug on the other side of the room. The dog likes to throw herself on the rug and it skids away. I went to Home Depot in search of a non-skid mat to put under the rug. I found the correct size for $39, which is almost what we paid for the rug. I just couldn't spend that amount of money on a mat. Instead, I bought 2 mats measuring 2' x 5' each for $13 each. I put both of these down and they work well. That saved me $13.
I keep looking for alternatives and cheaper ways to do things. I often find other ways of doing things and feel very proud when I do. Keep looking out for alternatives and you will be surprised what you come up with. Write a comment on how you came up with some great, money saving, repurposing or alternatives.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Keeping Chickens
When we bought our house last June, I was so happy because I had space to keep some chickens. I always wanted to have a large vegetable garden and some chickens, maybe a cow. Now I could start to make my dream come true. I was very lucky because someone I worked with was moving to Japan and couldn’t take her chickens!!!! I got 5 hens and 3 roosters “free”!
I had to rent a truck and drive to the Annapolis area to get the coop and fencing materials. ($105 plus gas and tolls – about $150) My husband never built a chicken pen. We paid a teen ager with the right skills about $75 to help him build the pen. They bought supplies for about another $60.
The chickens arrived a few days later by car. I got some feed with them but had to buy my own. I decided I wanted a few more hens so I could have a steady supply of eggs. I hatched 19 chicks. I did not get a special brooder which would have run much more. I made a little house out of cardboard and wood shavings for the chicks. Wood shavings began to run me quite a bit of money as the chicks grew. I went through about $10 worth a week as well as quite a bit of chick feed. I had to buy special feed and water holders. (About $25 for all of them).
Then the chicks went out into the pen with the grown ones. Next I noticed I was going through a bag of feed a week ($9.50). I now feed them scratch too and let them roam most days. I have only 25 chickens now (one died and one just disappeared – maybe a hawk got it).
In November I did a duck rescue and two of the sweetest animals installed themselves into the pen. I bought a dog house ($89) and had the teen aged boy make a door. He also enlarged the pen ($60 for him and $120 for supplies).
Now let’s tally up the balance sheet on the plus side. Eggs! Yes, I do get some (about 3 every 2 days). It is winter and chickens don’t lay many eggs in winter. Come Spring I will have many more and I will also send the roosters to be butchered. There are about 14 roosters and I will leave only 2. Since I have bantams we will need 2 roosters for every family dinner. That is 6 dinners plus leftovers. I hope to sell the eggs when the hens go into spring time production. Maybe $1 a dozen since they are small and 3 bantam eggs equal two regular sized eggs.
My nephew is bringing by 8 hens today because they were living in someone’s living room in Newark (EWWW!!!). Animal control gave them a week to get rid of them. Welcome hens! I am hoping no one else gets my phone number and asks me to rescue their poultry!!!
I decided that keeping a few chickens can be a very expensive hobby!
I had to rent a truck and drive to the Annapolis area to get the coop and fencing materials. ($105 plus gas and tolls – about $150) My husband never built a chicken pen. We paid a teen ager with the right skills about $75 to help him build the pen. They bought supplies for about another $60.
The chickens arrived a few days later by car. I got some feed with them but had to buy my own. I decided I wanted a few more hens so I could have a steady supply of eggs. I hatched 19 chicks. I did not get a special brooder which would have run much more. I made a little house out of cardboard and wood shavings for the chicks. Wood shavings began to run me quite a bit of money as the chicks grew. I went through about $10 worth a week as well as quite a bit of chick feed. I had to buy special feed and water holders. (About $25 for all of them).
Then the chicks went out into the pen with the grown ones. Next I noticed I was going through a bag of feed a week ($9.50). I now feed them scratch too and let them roam most days. I have only 25 chickens now (one died and one just disappeared – maybe a hawk got it).
In November I did a duck rescue and two of the sweetest animals installed themselves into the pen. I bought a dog house ($89) and had the teen aged boy make a door. He also enlarged the pen ($60 for him and $120 for supplies).
Now let’s tally up the balance sheet on the plus side. Eggs! Yes, I do get some (about 3 every 2 days). It is winter and chickens don’t lay many eggs in winter. Come Spring I will have many more and I will also send the roosters to be butchered. There are about 14 roosters and I will leave only 2. Since I have bantams we will need 2 roosters for every family dinner. That is 6 dinners plus leftovers. I hope to sell the eggs when the hens go into spring time production. Maybe $1 a dozen since they are small and 3 bantam eggs equal two regular sized eggs.
My nephew is bringing by 8 hens today because they were living in someone’s living room in Newark (EWWW!!!). Animal control gave them a week to get rid of them. Welcome hens! I am hoping no one else gets my phone number and asks me to rescue their poultry!!!
I decided that keeping a few chickens can be a very expensive hobby!
Friday, January 22, 2010
I Want New Furniture!
Jodlbauer’s is having a HUGE sale on furniture! (They are always having a sale these days! I think most furniture stores are struggling in this economy.) I would love a new bedroom set and a bigger dining room table.
My bedroom has never looked very pretty. I haven’t had a bedroom “set” since college dorm days! I wrote an article on repurposing furniture and talked about how I added a toy box and a dish cabinet to my bedroom. So, you can imagine what it looks like! I need a new bedroom set.
My dining room has a kitchen table in it. It seats 6 people only. To seat large amounts of family I need to put 2 or 3 tables together. I need a table that can seat 10 or 12.
I need? Do I really need? No, but dang it, I WANT these things. How to get these things? Do I run out and buy 2 rooms of furniture because it is a good sale and use a handy-dandy credit card? NO! I am going to save up for the furniture and then take advantage of another good sale at one of the many furniture stores, and buy it.
I am sitting here thinking it will be a long time before I get the $6,000-7,000 to spend on the new furniture. Maybe there is an alternative. Maybe I can save money – probably about $1,500 - and purchase some very nice used furniture. That seems do-able. That is not such a large number that it seems impossible to achieve.
I encourage you to all decide if something is a want or a need. Then use your brain and your creativity to come up with another way to get something or to substitute something cheaper.
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