I didn't actually make resolutions this year. I thought about it, but couldn't come up with anything that 1) I thought I could keep and 2) actually described what I want and need to do.
The idea for this year is to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without until credit card, personal loan and student loan debt is paid off. Now this totals around $25,000 (which is pretty much what I bring home) so this year will be a lean year. I have plenty of yarn, so I don't need to buy more (want isn't allowed to be considered), we do have some gift cards that we got for gifts so we can have a little splurge now and again.
A long while ago, I posted about using my shampoo samples instead of buying new shampoo. Guess what? I'm still using shampoo samples. Mr. Gaia is traveling regularly for work, so I get new bottles every few weeks. I am getting low, I'm down to only 3-4 bottles and will probably have to buy shampoo this year. I've thought about using baking soda and vinegar ala "no-poo" but I'm afraid it will strip the henna from my hair.
I'm having a hard time adjusting to the cold this year. The house stays no cooler than 65 and I'm constantly freezing. We used to keep our house at 62 and I didn't notice being especially cold. This could have a negative effect on our utility bills, so I'm bundling up and wearing blankets. I just wish I could figure out how to keep my hands from being too cold.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
End of Year Update
(So pretend this actually posted NYE, humor me)
This was a big year for Mr. Gaia and me. Which is why things have been so quiet.
In April we found out the economy was hitting Mr. Gaia's company and that the company would be closing its doors in June. Eek!! I hated my job, so I was not opposed to moving (although I love Bug Hill and loved my house), so, with my encouragement, Mr. Gaia applied with another company in Big City. And he got the job starting June 1. So, whew!, no interruption in paycheck for him. Mine was a different matter, but I was only without a paycheck for about 9 weeks.
The cool thing about living in Big City is that there is usable public transportation. So with the purchase of a monthly pass, I can take any bus I want. I work downtown, and am able to park at the park and ride (which means a slightly longer drive than I had in Bug Hill, but not much) and ride the bus to right outside my office. I find that I can knit on the bus fairly easily and I've gotten to know my fellow passengers fairly well. The bad thing is that my commute ends up taking almost an hour, so I usually leave the house at 7am and get home at 6pm. Which is a huge difference from Bug Hill where I worked part time.
We found a nice house that was well within our price range and not too far from shopping and the library. But the economy means that we still own our house in Bug Hill. We took the advice of all the real estate mavens and found a property management company to lease it. I can't believe the amount of rent people are willing to pay, but since it's so hard to qualify for a loan, people are willing to dig deep. We hope our renters will eventually be able to qualify for a mortgage and will buy the house from us - rent to own is not an option in Texas (nor is it a viable option for me). Right now the house isn't costing us anything, but taxes should be interesting when it comes time to file.
This was a big year for Mr. Gaia and me. Which is why things have been so quiet.
In April we found out the economy was hitting Mr. Gaia's company and that the company would be closing its doors in June. Eek!! I hated my job, so I was not opposed to moving (although I love Bug Hill and loved my house), so, with my encouragement, Mr. Gaia applied with another company in Big City. And he got the job starting June 1. So, whew!, no interruption in paycheck for him. Mine was a different matter, but I was only without a paycheck for about 9 weeks.
The cool thing about living in Big City is that there is usable public transportation. So with the purchase of a monthly pass, I can take any bus I want. I work downtown, and am able to park at the park and ride (which means a slightly longer drive than I had in Bug Hill, but not much) and ride the bus to right outside my office. I find that I can knit on the bus fairly easily and I've gotten to know my fellow passengers fairly well. The bad thing is that my commute ends up taking almost an hour, so I usually leave the house at 7am and get home at 6pm. Which is a huge difference from Bug Hill where I worked part time.
We found a nice house that was well within our price range and not too far from shopping and the library. But the economy means that we still own our house in Bug Hill. We took the advice of all the real estate mavens and found a property management company to lease it. I can't believe the amount of rent people are willing to pay, but since it's so hard to qualify for a loan, people are willing to dig deep. We hope our renters will eventually be able to qualify for a mortgage and will buy the house from us - rent to own is not an option in Texas (nor is it a viable option for me). Right now the house isn't costing us anything, but taxes should be interesting when it comes time to file.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Historic Day
I cannot express how proud I am of my country today, nor can I express how full of hope I am.
Oceanus is 10 and is in 5th grade. When I was 10 and in 5th grade, we had a class discussion about the presidential primaries. This was 1984 and Jesse Jackson was one of the democratic candidates. I remember the utter disdain I suffered from my classmates because I wouldn't consider Mr. Jackson a nutcase for thinking he should run for president. Why did they think he was a nutcase? Well, we were 10, so we weren't paying attention to the issues (I don't even remember what the issues were in 1984). They thought he was a nutcase to run because he was black. No other reason than that.
It took 24 years and a generation, but we finally broke the color barrier in the white house. As Oceanus says "it's the end of a tradition" and it's about time. I have increased faith that we will see the first woman president within my lifetime.
Oceanus is 10 and is in 5th grade. When I was 10 and in 5th grade, we had a class discussion about the presidential primaries. This was 1984 and Jesse Jackson was one of the democratic candidates. I remember the utter disdain I suffered from my classmates because I wouldn't consider Mr. Jackson a nutcase for thinking he should run for president. Why did they think he was a nutcase? Well, we were 10, so we weren't paying attention to the issues (I don't even remember what the issues were in 1984). They thought he was a nutcase to run because he was black. No other reason than that.
It took 24 years and a generation, but we finally broke the color barrier in the white house. As Oceanus says "it's the end of a tradition" and it's about time. I have increased faith that we will see the first woman president within my lifetime.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Small town values
Hello again from Bug Hill. It's been a long time since I posted (not quite 6 months, though, so it could be worse, right?). I have no excuses - I miss a few weeks because of too much going on, a little bit of the blues, etc and then each day it's just harder and harder to come back.
Bug Hill is a small town. And I mean a small town - smaller than Wasilla (which is not, in fact, the 2nd largest city in Alaska - what the heck is Karl Rove smoking?). I've lived in many small towns, some that are fairly liberal (or at least less conservative) and some that are really conservative. So imagine my surprise when the RNC was all about "small town values". How do you define small town values? Well, it seems that most people at the convention weren't able to define it, either. But people have been asking me and once I got over my knee jerk reaction of "bigotry", I decided to put some thought into it.
I finally decided that small town values can be summed up in one phrase - "We've never done it that way before". As I said, I've lived in many small towns and some have been more "home" than others. I no longer fit in in my "home town", but Bug Hill works for me, and here's why - in my home town, I am different from everyone there - I don't go to the Catholic or Baptist church (or any church for that matter); I believe that Christ truly wants us to: "do for the least of these", "turn the other cheek" and "be peacemakers"; I believe that "love is of God" and I don't care who a person loves, etc. In short, I'm a liberal. Now, it isn't that the people I grew up with don't believe these things, it's just that they've never lived those beliefs and "We've never done it that way before".
Small towns are incredibly resistant to change. They can change, but they have to be dragged into change kicking and screaming. Change scares them. I have a part of this in me - I found out this week that my office will be switching to Macs in the near future and I'm terrified, I don't deal well with change, I dropped yahoo because they had too many changes, I'm freaking out because my work computer uses IE 7 and I HATE it - so I understand the physical reaction to change. It's visceral. It's often overwhelming. Change is never seen as good - things are working fine now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Now, small town people know that things don't work well for everyone but they feel those people should either change to fit in or move out. It's why you'll see very few mixed race couples and gay and lesbian couples in most of the small towns in the US (not all the small towns, just most).
Back to Bug Hill - school is back in session. The town council decided to try a pilot program - the elementary school zone is now a cell phone free zone. You can talk on a hands free phone, but no hand held or texting is allowed while driving. If you are caught, you will be fined $200. Parents can still park and call their kids, it's just while driving. Now for me, I'll just avoid the school zone (like I didn't already as much as possible). I do drive while talking on my phone - usually for directions or to find out where I need to be. I've tried handsfree devices and they don't work for me - they won't stay on/in my ear and I end up trying to feel around for the earpiece - which is not safe - while yelling "hold on, the stupid thing fell again, don't hang up".
Also at Bug Hill, we're trying a new idea of having a parade every month possible. We just had our labor day parade - that was a lot of fun. In October we'll have a "Fall Carnival" carnival and costume parade, November will be a Thanksgiving parade and December will be a "Winter Carnival" parade. The town council has asked for a permanent volunteer to coordinate the parades - there will be no pay for this, but it is hoped you'll have lots of fun. So if anyone wants to volunteer, they should call the city manager and let her know.
Finally, I've been asked to request that people donate any extra school supplies they can. There are still quite a few students who don't have all the supplies they need. Remember, with the cost of gas, electricity, and food rising, many of our people are finding that they just can't stretch a dollar as well as they need to. We'd also like to ask that you donate any extra clothing you have to the clothing bank, all clothes - even stained and torn. The plan is that volunteers will sort the clothing by condition - pristine, good, okay, and needs work. Then there will be work days to work on the clothing that needs work - ideas are still being formed but currently the plan is to dye clothing that is stained, sew patches, use clothing that is past mending to "frankenstein" into something new, etc. The local 4H and FHA chapters have volunteered to remake clothing as possible - this will be a new skill for them and the teachers are very excited.
Bug Hill is a small town. And I mean a small town - smaller than Wasilla (which is not, in fact, the 2nd largest city in Alaska - what the heck is Karl Rove smoking?). I've lived in many small towns, some that are fairly liberal (or at least less conservative) and some that are really conservative. So imagine my surprise when the RNC was all about "small town values". How do you define small town values? Well, it seems that most people at the convention weren't able to define it, either. But people have been asking me and once I got over my knee jerk reaction of "bigotry", I decided to put some thought into it.
I finally decided that small town values can be summed up in one phrase - "We've never done it that way before". As I said, I've lived in many small towns and some have been more "home" than others. I no longer fit in in my "home town", but Bug Hill works for me, and here's why - in my home town, I am different from everyone there - I don't go to the Catholic or Baptist church (or any church for that matter); I believe that Christ truly wants us to: "do for the least of these", "turn the other cheek" and "be peacemakers"; I believe that "love is of God" and I don't care who a person loves, etc. In short, I'm a liberal. Now, it isn't that the people I grew up with don't believe these things, it's just that they've never lived those beliefs and "We've never done it that way before".
Small towns are incredibly resistant to change. They can change, but they have to be dragged into change kicking and screaming. Change scares them. I have a part of this in me - I found out this week that my office will be switching to Macs in the near future and I'm terrified, I don't deal well with change, I dropped yahoo because they had too many changes, I'm freaking out because my work computer uses IE 7 and I HATE it - so I understand the physical reaction to change. It's visceral. It's often overwhelming. Change is never seen as good - things are working fine now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Now, small town people know that things don't work well for everyone but they feel those people should either change to fit in or move out. It's why you'll see very few mixed race couples and gay and lesbian couples in most of the small towns in the US (not all the small towns, just most).
Back to Bug Hill - school is back in session. The town council decided to try a pilot program - the elementary school zone is now a cell phone free zone. You can talk on a hands free phone, but no hand held or texting is allowed while driving. If you are caught, you will be fined $200. Parents can still park and call their kids, it's just while driving. Now for me, I'll just avoid the school zone (like I didn't already as much as possible). I do drive while talking on my phone - usually for directions or to find out where I need to be. I've tried handsfree devices and they don't work for me - they won't stay on/in my ear and I end up trying to feel around for the earpiece - which is not safe - while yelling "hold on, the stupid thing fell again, don't hang up".
Also at Bug Hill, we're trying a new idea of having a parade every month possible. We just had our labor day parade - that was a lot of fun. In October we'll have a "Fall Carnival" carnival and costume parade, November will be a Thanksgiving parade and December will be a "Winter Carnival" parade. The town council has asked for a permanent volunteer to coordinate the parades - there will be no pay for this, but it is hoped you'll have lots of fun. So if anyone wants to volunteer, they should call the city manager and let her know.
Finally, I've been asked to request that people donate any extra school supplies they can. There are still quite a few students who don't have all the supplies they need. Remember, with the cost of gas, electricity, and food rising, many of our people are finding that they just can't stretch a dollar as well as they need to. We'd also like to ask that you donate any extra clothing you have to the clothing bank, all clothes - even stained and torn. The plan is that volunteers will sort the clothing by condition - pristine, good, okay, and needs work. Then there will be work days to work on the clothing that needs work - ideas are still being formed but currently the plan is to dye clothing that is stained, sew patches, use clothing that is past mending to "frankenstein" into something new, etc. The local 4H and FHA chapters have volunteered to remake clothing as possible - this will be a new skill for them and the teachers are very excited.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Bug Hill update
Megan, my coworker who had the baby New Year's day is back at work. The bosses are nice enough to let her bring the baby to work with her. The baby had jaundice that lasted longer than 6 weeks, so they had her move the baby to formula. The idea, apparently, was to see if it was breastmilk jaundice, but they didn't test the bilirubin levels after 48 hours on formula, they just had her pump and dump for 48 hours and then start nursing again. Which seems bizarre.
Happily, Megan did continue to nurse after that 48 hours. I told her I was proud of her, so many women I know would have stopped at the first sign of problems.
Our receptionist, however, is not doing well. I don't remember if I've mentioned her here. She has a failing kidney and needs another kidney transplant. Part of the problem with her kidney is that her periods are lasting 2-3 weeks so she becomes anemic. But she can't get the hysterectomy she needs because she can't pay the co-pay. She looks awful - her skin is much darker and bruised looking. I'm really worried about her. She has a little girl.
Happily, Megan did continue to nurse after that 48 hours. I told her I was proud of her, so many women I know would have stopped at the first sign of problems.
Our receptionist, however, is not doing well. I don't remember if I've mentioned her here. She has a failing kidney and needs another kidney transplant. Part of the problem with her kidney is that her periods are lasting 2-3 weeks so she becomes anemic. But she can't get the hysterectomy she needs because she can't pay the co-pay. She looks awful - her skin is much darker and bruised looking. I'm really worried about her. She has a little girl.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Adventures in reclaiming yarn
So, it's spring break which means I don't have to rush home after work to go get the boys from school. I decided to use that "leisure time" to go to a thrift store and look for sweaters to unravel for yarn.
I hit a great deal - 3 sweaters for $1. So I bought 6. I bought another one at the other thrift store for $2.50. Beautiful yarn, not so beautiful sweaters.
I came home and threw them in the washer. Now Mr. Gaia swore to me that there was no hot water hooked to the washer, so maybe I wasn't as careful as I should have been (okay, I wasn't at all). I threw all the sweaters in together along with some kitchen towels. I pushed the button to make it a cold cycle. Then I decided "you know what, these sweaters have been in thrift stores and who knows where else, why don't I use this stain cycle?" and then didn't notice that that changed the temp setting from cold to hot. Sigh. And one sweater was red. Yeah, the white cashmere and cotton sweaters? Are now pink. The kitchen towels? Also pink. No hot water hooked up my ass. Oh well, the kitchen towels actually look better pink (hides the stains) and now I have an excuse to dye the other sweaters and the pink is actually kind of a nice color (if I decide not to dye).
So then I decide to take a sweater apart and frog it. I bought it because it was only 33 cents (I wanted an even 6 to make the math easier and had found 4 I really liked) and it is 70% silk, 14% rayon, 11% alpaca and 5% cashmere. I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was something like 40 stitches to the inch (that may be an exaggeration, but it's tiny). Yeah, I start getting it apart and this isn't even thread weight yarn. And it breaks every few yards. But it is gorgeous. I guess this will be my excuse to learn to ply on a drop spindle.
The good thing I did, though, was I figured out that my barstools make a perfect swift when turned upside down. The legs are straight and I can just spin it around to wrap the yarn. Of course, at the rate I'm going, it will take about 3 weeks just to frog this sweater.
Otherwise, I'm plowing away at studying for my certified arborist exam. I applied for my test date on April 18. The application scared me a little, my experience is so old and they didn't give enough room to list both colleges I attended, so I could only show 2 years of school.
I hit a great deal - 3 sweaters for $1. So I bought 6. I bought another one at the other thrift store for $2.50. Beautiful yarn, not so beautiful sweaters.
I came home and threw them in the washer. Now Mr. Gaia swore to me that there was no hot water hooked to the washer, so maybe I wasn't as careful as I should have been (okay, I wasn't at all). I threw all the sweaters in together along with some kitchen towels. I pushed the button to make it a cold cycle. Then I decided "you know what, these sweaters have been in thrift stores and who knows where else, why don't I use this stain cycle?" and then didn't notice that that changed the temp setting from cold to hot. Sigh. And one sweater was red. Yeah, the white cashmere and cotton sweaters? Are now pink. The kitchen towels? Also pink. No hot water hooked up my ass. Oh well, the kitchen towels actually look better pink (hides the stains) and now I have an excuse to dye the other sweaters and the pink is actually kind of a nice color (if I decide not to dye).
So then I decide to take a sweater apart and frog it. I bought it because it was only 33 cents (I wanted an even 6 to make the math easier and had found 4 I really liked) and it is 70% silk, 14% rayon, 11% alpaca and 5% cashmere. I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was something like 40 stitches to the inch (that may be an exaggeration, but it's tiny). Yeah, I start getting it apart and this isn't even thread weight yarn. And it breaks every few yards. But it is gorgeous. I guess this will be my excuse to learn to ply on a drop spindle.
The good thing I did, though, was I figured out that my barstools make a perfect swift when turned upside down. The legs are straight and I can just spin it around to wrap the yarn. Of course, at the rate I'm going, it will take about 3 weeks just to frog this sweater.
Otherwise, I'm plowing away at studying for my certified arborist exam. I applied for my test date on April 18. The application scared me a little, my experience is so old and they didn't give enough room to list both colleges I attended, so I could only show 2 years of school.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
So here's what's keeping me
I seem to only be able to have so many "obsessions" in my life at a time. Blogging has suffered for this.
Right now I'm:
1) in the middle of my Master Naturalist class. I'm loving it. Most of it is review from college (my forestry degree was exceptionally well rounded) but there's been enough new that it's been very cool and interesting. I've also met some other great people, so it's a nice outlet that way;
2) busily tracking my eating and exercising through sparkpeople.com. I don't like it quite as well as fitday.com for food tracking, but I definitely prefer their exercise support. I've been concentrating on getting at least 30 minutes of cardio each day, more when I my cable is working properly;
3) studying for my Certified Arborist. My testing date is April 18, so I've got 5 weeks (give or take) to get prepared. Right now, I'm doing a portion of my CD-ROM each night - coincidentally, the time I always used for blogging.
I'm also almost done with knitting a sweater, I combined 2 patterns and did some other modifications so I'm using cheap, cheap yarn. If it works out, I'll use cheap yarn (lion wool) to make it. But I've also found the sweater I want to make with my alpaca, so I'm trying to hurry and finish this sweater so I can start on my alpaca sweater. I've just got the sleeves to go.
I'm going to do my best to carve out blogging time at least once each week. And of course, after April 18, I hope to have more time. I hope I pass and don't have to worry about retaking any "domains".
Of course, there's a chance that we might be moving in June, so if that happens, my posting time will be taken up with packing and cleaning and doing minor repairs to the house to get it ready to sell.
Right now I'm:
1) in the middle of my Master Naturalist class. I'm loving it. Most of it is review from college (my forestry degree was exceptionally well rounded) but there's been enough new that it's been very cool and interesting. I've also met some other great people, so it's a nice outlet that way;
2) busily tracking my eating and exercising through sparkpeople.com. I don't like it quite as well as fitday.com for food tracking, but I definitely prefer their exercise support. I've been concentrating on getting at least 30 minutes of cardio each day, more when I my cable is working properly;
3) studying for my Certified Arborist. My testing date is April 18, so I've got 5 weeks (give or take) to get prepared. Right now, I'm doing a portion of my CD-ROM each night - coincidentally, the time I always used for blogging.
I'm also almost done with knitting a sweater, I combined 2 patterns and did some other modifications so I'm using cheap, cheap yarn. If it works out, I'll use cheap yarn (lion wool) to make it. But I've also found the sweater I want to make with my alpaca, so I'm trying to hurry and finish this sweater so I can start on my alpaca sweater. I've just got the sleeves to go.
I'm going to do my best to carve out blogging time at least once each week. And of course, after April 18, I hope to have more time. I hope I pass and don't have to worry about retaking any "domains".
Of course, there's a chance that we might be moving in June, so if that happens, my posting time will be taken up with packing and cleaning and doing minor repairs to the house to get it ready to sell.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
I'm back
Sorry to be gone so long.
I don't have a good reason - mother-in-law visit, february blues (I really thought moving to the subtropics would fix this issue, but it hasn't) and Mr. Gaia was traveling.
I've just felt overwhelmed. I hope to be back on track by the middle of the week - I'm hoping to be caught up on my sleep, etc by then.
One really cool thing I did, though, was I went to see Obama speak. That man is the most amazing speaker I've ever heard. We had less than 24 hours notice that he was coming (we were hoping and plans were being made, but no one knew for sure he would come or when) and there were thousands of people who turned out. He could win the election. And frankly, I think we could do worse, and have done worse.
The line he said that got the biggest applause? "No matter what happens in the primaries, the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot"
I don't have a good reason - mother-in-law visit, february blues (I really thought moving to the subtropics would fix this issue, but it hasn't) and Mr. Gaia was traveling.
I've just felt overwhelmed. I hope to be back on track by the middle of the week - I'm hoping to be caught up on my sleep, etc by then.
One really cool thing I did, though, was I went to see Obama speak. That man is the most amazing speaker I've ever heard. We had less than 24 hours notice that he was coming (we were hoping and plans were being made, but no one knew for sure he would come or when) and there were thousands of people who turned out. He could win the election. And frankly, I think we could do worse, and have done worse.
The line he said that got the biggest applause? "No matter what happens in the primaries, the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot"
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 20
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 20: Evaluating Your Expenses - Food
Eat out less. We've been really good about this lately. We're averaging less than 2 times/month.
Learn to cook. Mr. Gaia is the cook in the family but I've been working on developing a few meals of my own. I need to get Hyperion and Oceanus in the kitchen with me.
Eat leftovers. Ugh. We were doing so well, but I don't know what happened. We cleaned out the fridge this weekend and it was sooo gross. We are doing better again, though. We've started using glass jars to store food in the fridge and they just really draw your eye. We're also working on "planned leftovers". When we cook, we have an idea of what meal we can make with the leftovers, or when we can eat the leftovers as they are.
Buy a freezer. We have an upright freezer. A chest freezer is more energy efficient but with my hand issues, we never dug in the freezer and a lot of food sat in there for 5 years or more.
Organize potluck dinners. We don't yet have a group of friends to do this with. Maybe soon, though.
Eat out less. We've been really good about this lately. We're averaging less than 2 times/month.
Learn to cook. Mr. Gaia is the cook in the family but I've been working on developing a few meals of my own. I need to get Hyperion and Oceanus in the kitchen with me.
Eat leftovers. Ugh. We were doing so well, but I don't know what happened. We cleaned out the fridge this weekend and it was sooo gross. We are doing better again, though. We've started using glass jars to store food in the fridge and they just really draw your eye. We're also working on "planned leftovers". When we cook, we have an idea of what meal we can make with the leftovers, or when we can eat the leftovers as they are.
Buy a freezer. We have an upright freezer. A chest freezer is more energy efficient but with my hand issues, we never dug in the freezer and a lot of food sat in there for 5 years or more.
Organize potluck dinners. We don't yet have a group of friends to do this with. Maybe soon, though.
Monday, February 11, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 19
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 19: Evaluating Your Expenses - Automobiles
Today is ways to save automobile expenses.
1) Coast to a stop. I always do this. If I see a "stale green" light (a light that has been green for several blocks), I take my foot off the brake so I don't have to slam on my brakes when it turns yellow. Doing this got me significantly more mileage on my brakes.
2) Don't speed. I'm so guilty of this. Although, I almost never drive on the highway anymore, so I don't get the chance to speed. Most of my commute is through school zones and I don't EVER speed through those.
3) Clean out your air filter. I never thought of this one - just shake or blow out the dirt.
4) Properly inflate your tires. I need to do this more regularly. I do check on it every other month or so, but that's not really enough.
5) Keep your car clean to reduce the weight. Another thing I'm guilty about. The kids dump their stuff in there and never take it out.
6) Keep an eye on gas station prices. This one really doesn't fit me. I only fill up once/month and only have 2 stations along my commute and both are the same company.
Today is ways to save automobile expenses.
1) Coast to a stop. I always do this. If I see a "stale green" light (a light that has been green for several blocks), I take my foot off the brake so I don't have to slam on my brakes when it turns yellow. Doing this got me significantly more mileage on my brakes.
2) Don't speed. I'm so guilty of this. Although, I almost never drive on the highway anymore, so I don't get the chance to speed. Most of my commute is through school zones and I don't EVER speed through those.
3) Clean out your air filter. I never thought of this one - just shake or blow out the dirt.
4) Properly inflate your tires. I need to do this more regularly. I do check on it every other month or so, but that's not really enough.
5) Keep your car clean to reduce the weight. Another thing I'm guilty about. The kids dump their stuff in there and never take it out.
6) Keep an eye on gas station prices. This one really doesn't fit me. I only fill up once/month and only have 2 stations along my commute and both are the same company.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 18
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 18: Evaluating Your Expenses - Energy
Another good article.
1) Replace your lights with CFLs. We did this long ago and they move with us from house to house (because our realtor insisted that you have to have incandescents to sell a house and because I didn't want to leave a lot of CFLs in a rental house after they threw away all my nice finished compost).
2) Get a programmable thermostat. Our house came with one and it is marvelous. The only problem is that in the summer you can't turn the AC higher than 87.
3) Install surge protectors. I have a UPS for my computer and everything else is plugged into power strips that provide some protection. I'll have Mr. Gaia check to see if they're enough.
4) Turn off your home computer. My computer is never left on. At the least, I put it to sleep if I know I'm going to be doing something else for 5 minutes or more.
5) Air seal your home. This is one we haven't done, but need to look into it. Our house leaks like a sieve. It's not a big deal NOW when it's 69 outside, but it could really save us some money in the summer.
Another good article.
1) Replace your lights with CFLs. We did this long ago and they move with us from house to house (because our realtor insisted that you have to have incandescents to sell a house and because I didn't want to leave a lot of CFLs in a rental house after they threw away all my nice finished compost).
2) Get a programmable thermostat. Our house came with one and it is marvelous. The only problem is that in the summer you can't turn the AC higher than 87.
3) Install surge protectors. I have a UPS for my computer and everything else is plugged into power strips that provide some protection. I'll have Mr. Gaia check to see if they're enough.
4) Turn off your home computer. My computer is never left on. At the least, I put it to sleep if I know I'm going to be doing something else for 5 minutes or more.
5) Air seal your home. This is one we haven't done, but need to look into it. Our house leaks like a sieve. It's not a big deal NOW when it's 69 outside, but it could really save us some money in the summer.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 17
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 17: Evaluating Your Expenses - Life Insurance
This is a fairly interesting entry. I'll admit I know waaaaay too little about life insurance, so I can't say if the figures presented here are correct or not. Right now, we all have life insurance through Mr. Gaia's employer. The kids' policy is just enough for burial expenses and some therapy for the rest of us (as a child, one of my brothers died after a car accident and that's exactly what his small policy was used for and it was a good thing we had it, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford the help we needed).
I'll definitely keep this bookmark for when we get our next social security statement. Basically, his math is such: 90% of your salary, subtract your dependent Social Security benefit, then divide that amount by 0.08.
Friday, February 08, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 16
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 16: Evaluating Your Expenses - Home and Auto Insurance
This one is self explanatory. I'll admit I haven't priced homeowners insurance since I bought the house. At the time I called all the agents in town and checked online and this was the best deal.
Same with auto insurance.
Now, I should probably shop around again, but I don't want to have my credit score pulled right now. There's a chance we'll be moving in the summer, which would mean buying a new house and we're in major "credit score" mode. All credit cards are being paid down (we had some with 0% interest while the money was in the bank earning interest) and we're taking care not to do anything that would have any kind of negative impact on our score.
I've not heard of any insurance company that doesn't do a hard pull on your credit.
Now, Mr. Gaia's car is paid off this month, so we need to figure out if we're going to keep full coverage or not.
This one is self explanatory. I'll admit I haven't priced homeowners insurance since I bought the house. At the time I called all the agents in town and checked online and this was the best deal.
Same with auto insurance.
Now, I should probably shop around again, but I don't want to have my credit score pulled right now. There's a chance we'll be moving in the summer, which would mean buying a new house and we're in major "credit score" mode. All credit cards are being paid down (we had some with 0% interest while the money was in the bank earning interest) and we're taking care not to do anything that would have any kind of negative impact on our score.
I've not heard of any insurance company that doesn't do a hard pull on your credit.
Now, Mr. Gaia's car is paid off this month, so we need to figure out if we're going to keep full coverage or not.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 15
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 15: Coming In Under Budget And An Emergency Fund
Today's discussion was what to do about the money leftover each month. The idea is to put this money in a separate, high interest account until you've built up an emergency fund that contains at least 6 months' salary.
I do agree with this, but think it leaves a little bit out. It forgets that some of our "monthly expenses are actually annual or semi-annual expenses that were prorated to a monthly amount. So when you do this, be prepared to leave those amounts in the bank until the bill comes due. My examples would be home insurance, car insurance, property taxes, and car tag and inspection.
Today's discussion was what to do about the money leftover each month. The idea is to put this money in a separate, high interest account until you've built up an emergency fund that contains at least 6 months' salary.
I do agree with this, but think it leaves a little bit out. It forgets that some of our "monthly expenses are actually annual or semi-annual expenses that were prorated to a monthly amount. So when you do this, be prepared to leave those amounts in the bank until the bill comes due. My examples would be home insurance, car insurance, property taxes, and car tag and inspection.
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 14
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 14: Get Rid Of Debts (Slowly But Surely)
Today we're looking at our debts and making plans for paying them off. The amount in our budget that is supposed to go to debt payments is EXTRA debt payments, not the minimum.
I agree with him in theory, but right now I can make more money on investments than I can save by paying off my debts early. BUT, Mr. Gaia and I have our spreadsheet worked out and know exactly what our break even point is for interest rates. We know exactly what interest rate we need to get to make money over paying off debts. As interest rates are dropping, we're carefully weighing it all again.
Today we're looking at our debts and making plans for paying them off. The amount in our budget that is supposed to go to debt payments is EXTRA debt payments, not the minimum.
I agree with him in theory, but right now I can make more money on investments than I can save by paying off my debts early. BUT, Mr. Gaia and I have our spreadsheet worked out and know exactly what our break even point is for interest rates. We know exactly what interest rate we need to get to make money over paying off debts. As interest rates are dropping, we're carefully weighing it all again.
Monday, February 04, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 13
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 13: Pay For Your Dreams First
The advice for today is to open a new bank account. In theory, I agree whole heartedly with this advice, however we have several accounts now and I don't think Mr. Gaia would be easily convinced to open a new account.
The advice for today is to open a new bank account. In theory, I agree whole heartedly with this advice, however we have several accounts now and I don't think Mr. Gaia would be easily convinced to open a new account.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 12
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 12: A Flexible “Budget” That Reflects Your Reality
Today, we take the list we made yesterday and multiple the hours by 52 (to get the yearly amount) and then divide by 12 (to get the monthly amount). We then multiply those numbers by our hourly wage to get a true budget.
Mortgage__________ 43.68___$549.93
Phone _____________5.55___ $ 69.83
Electricity___________5.94___$ 74.74
Gas________________1.17__ $ 14.73
Fuel_______________ 3.2___ $174.58
Water/Trash_________3.94___$ 49.65
Student Loan________14.26___$179.49
Car Insurance________6.33___ $ 79.65
Car Tags____________1.26___$ 15.82
Inspection Stickers_____0.13__ $ 1.64
Car maintenance______ 0.95___$ 12.00
Home Insurance______ 3.94___$ 49.65
Property Taxes______11.87___ $149.49
Maintenance Fee______2.34___$ 29.46
Groceries__________23.79___ $299.52
Kids' Activities_______1.56___ $ 19.64
School Lunches______ 2.3_____$ 28.92
Car Payment _______1.17_____$ 14.73 (notice, this is prorated for the 1 payment)
Paper Products _____0.78_____$ 9.82
Gifts_____________9.92_____$124.93
Cable ____________10.31____$129.84
Entertainment ______0.39____$ 4.91
Clothing ___________1.3_____$ 16.37
Eating Out _________4.72____$ 59.47
Medical ___________1.95____$ 24.55
Incidentals________17.42____$219.32
Credit Card_______82.18___$1,034.67
TX Master Naturalist_4.33____$ 54.56
Certified Arborist____6.5____$ 81.84
529 plan_________64.85____$816.44
organic foods______4.33____$ 54.56
Grow a garden_____2.17____$ 27.28
Saturday, February 02, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 11
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 11: Dividing Up The Rest and Finishing Our “Time Budget”
Okay, today's exercise ...
A) List the 5 short term goals and our debts
1) Complete the Texas Master Naturalist course.
2) Complete Certified Arborist certification.
3) Start a 529 plan for each of the boys.
4) Continue to eat healthful and organic foods and lose this extra 20 pounds.
5) Grow a garden to provide at least 50% of our vegetables this year.
Car - $182.69 Student Loan - $10,425.96 House - $64,684.95 CC (0%) - $615.94
B) Take the leftover hours from yesterday and divide that by 2
Total hours each week = 81.97, hours leftover = 37.93 divided by 2 = 18.965
Half of these hours go to debts (as extra payments) and half go to short term goals.
C) Assemble a big picture to show where all of our hours go:
Mortgage__________ 10.08
Phone ______________1.28
Electricity____________1.37
Gas_________________ 0.27
Fuel________________ 3.20
Water/Trash__________ 0.91
Student Loan_________ 3.29
Car Insurance_________1.46
Car Tags_____________0.29
Inspection Stickers______0.03
Car maintenance_______0.22
Home Insurance_______0.91
Property Taxes________2.74
Maintenance Fee_______0.54
Groceries____________5.49
Kids' Activities_________0.36
School Lunches________0.53
Car Payment __________0.27
Paper Products ________0.18
Gifts________________2.29
Cable _______________2.38
Entertainment ________0.09
Clothing _____________0.30
Eating Out ___________1.09
Medical _____________0.45
Incidentals___________4.02
Credit Card__________18.965
Texas Master Naturalist__1.0
Certified Arborist_______1.5
529 plan____________14.965
organic foods__________1.0
Grow a garden__________.5
Okay, today's exercise ...
A) List the 5 short term goals and our debts
1) Complete the Texas Master Naturalist course.
2) Complete Certified Arborist certification.
3) Start a 529 plan for each of the boys.
4) Continue to eat healthful and organic foods and lose this extra 20 pounds.
5) Grow a garden to provide at least 50% of our vegetables this year.
Car - $182.69 Student Loan - $10,425.96 House - $64,684.95 CC (0%) - $615.94
B) Take the leftover hours from yesterday and divide that by 2
Total hours each week = 81.97, hours leftover = 37.93 divided by 2 = 18.965
Half of these hours go to debts (as extra payments) and half go to short term goals.
C) Assemble a big picture to show where all of our hours go:
Mortgage__________ 10.08
Phone ______________1.28
Electricity____________1.37
Gas_________________ 0.27
Fuel________________ 3.20
Water/Trash__________ 0.91
Student Loan_________ 3.29
Car Insurance_________1.46
Car Tags_____________0.29
Inspection Stickers______0.03
Car maintenance_______0.22
Home Insurance_______0.91
Property Taxes________2.74
Maintenance Fee_______0.54
Groceries____________5.49
Kids' Activities_________0.36
School Lunches________0.53
Car Payment __________0.27
Paper Products ________0.18
Gifts________________2.29
Cable _______________2.38
Entertainment ________0.09
Clothing _____________0.30
Eating Out ___________1.09
Medical _____________0.45
Incidentals___________4.02
Credit Card__________18.965
Texas Master Naturalist__1.0
Certified Arborist_______1.5
529 plan____________14.965
organic foods__________1.0
Grow a garden__________.5
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 10
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 10: Fitting Your Expenses Into The Bigger Picture
By the steps again:
1) Make 3 columns and list as follows:
1) each expense from day 8
2) amount per week from day 8
3) calculate true hourly wage for each item
Mortgage_______126.9231___ 10.08
Phone __________16.1538 ____1.28
Electricity________17.3076 ____1.37
Gas_____________3.4615____ 0.27
Fuel____________40.3846____ 3.20
Water/Trash______11.5384____ 0.91
Student Loan_____41.5384____ 3.29
Car Insurance_____18.4615____1.46
Car Tags_________ 3.6538____0.29
Inspection Stickers__0.3846____0.03
Car maintenance___ 2.8846____0.22
Home Insurance____11.5384 ___0.91
Property Taxes____34.6153____2.74
Maintenance Fee___ 6.9230____0.54
Groceries________69.2307____5.49
Kids' Activities______4.6153___0.36
School Lunches_____6.7307___0.53
Car Payment _______3.4615___0.27
Paper Products _____2.3076___0.18
Gifts_____________28.8461___2.29
Cable___________ 30 _______2.38
Entertainment______1.1538____0.09
Clothing __________3.8461____0.30
Eating Out________13.8461____1.09
Medical___________5.7692____0.45
Incidentals________50.6730____4.02
2) Total the number of hours spent each week for these items = 44.04 (there's a difference in rounding between this and Day 8). Together we spend 81.97 hours working. So we're at 54% of our hours each week are spent on these items. Which is lower than I thought. I suspect I'm still leaving something out.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 9
31 Days To Fix Your Finances, Day 9: Cleaning Up Your Expenses
Today we are supposed to evaluate our expenses with an eye toward cutting them down.
Honestly, there is nothing I'm willing to cut down or out. We've cut to the bone on most items. The only thing that is significant is our cable bill with is cable and internet and we got so much out of it, I can't see cutting it out and there's no real way to cut it down (darn packages that make you pay for channels you won't watch just because you want to get another channel).
The examples are:
Conserve energy by installing energy efficient items like CFLs, programmable thermostats, and intelligent power strips.
Buy fewer books by spending more time at your local library.
Buy less music by listening to music in your collection that you’ve never spent the time to appreciate.
Buy fewer clothes by selecting items that go well with much of the rest of your wardrobe.
Eat out less by buying a good cookbook that starts out at a beginner’s level and stocking your kitchen well.
Reduce insurance by calling your insurance carrier and looking at raising your deductible.
Reduce your credit card payments by calling your credit card company and requesting a reduction in your interest rate.
Reduce your bank fees by looking into no-fee or low-fee options at your bank - or at other banks.
Reduce your cable bill by eliminating unwatched premium channels or looking at other basic package options - or even consider eliminating it altogether.
Reduce your car payments by ending the leasing cycle and buying late model used cars instead.
We've already done all of this, a long time ago. I think they're good tips, they just don't apply to us right now.
Today we are supposed to evaluate our expenses with an eye toward cutting them down.
Honestly, there is nothing I'm willing to cut down or out. We've cut to the bone on most items. The only thing that is significant is our cable bill with is cable and internet and we got so much out of it, I can't see cutting it out and there's no real way to cut it down (darn packages that make you pay for channels you won't watch just because you want to get another channel).
The examples are:
Conserve energy by installing energy efficient items like CFLs, programmable thermostats, and intelligent power strips.
Buy fewer books by spending more time at your local library.
Buy less music by listening to music in your collection that you’ve never spent the time to appreciate.
Buy fewer clothes by selecting items that go well with much of the rest of your wardrobe.
Eat out less by buying a good cookbook that starts out at a beginner’s level and stocking your kitchen well.
Reduce insurance by calling your insurance carrier and looking at raising your deductible.
Reduce your credit card payments by calling your credit card company and requesting a reduction in your interest rate.
Reduce your bank fees by looking into no-fee or low-fee options at your bank - or at other banks.
Reduce your cable bill by eliminating unwatched premium channels or looking at other basic package options - or even consider eliminating it altogether.
Reduce your car payments by ending the leasing cycle and buying late model used cars instead.
We've already done all of this, a long time ago. I think they're good tips, they just don't apply to us right now.
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