Sara Noel: Cut back or do without
Frugal Village columnist Sara Noel has this piece today: Cut back or do without to reach financial goals.
A snippet:
When you’re living lean, it seems like you can’t cut any more corners. Often, there are things you simply don’t want to give up. You get used to modern conveniences and want to enjoy life. But if you think about, there’s quite a bit you could cut back on if you had to, and some things you might not even miss if you got rid of them completely. What would you give up to reach a financial goal?
Her topics of discussion were cable, gym membership, junk food and vehicle.
I’ll just take on one topic: the vehicle. We can’t go to a one-vehicle household. There are too many complications on my work schedule vs. my husband’s work schedule.
We have, however, managed fine with one newer car and one older car that is kept running for as long as possible.
There were only two years out of the 15 years we have been married that we had to make two car payments at the same time. Designating one car as the “good vehicle,” and moving it to backup status when it becomes older, resulted in a significant cost savings for us while still keeping the convenience of two cars available.
Continue reading Sara Noel: Cut back or do without …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Review: Bargain Junkie
Every Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal finance book or other book of interest. You can check out my reviews of hundreds of personal finance books (and other related books of interest) all on one page.
Bargain Junkie is an unabashed frugality book, focusing mostly on maximizing your “bang for the buck” when spending money.
The book itself is broken down into a large number of very short sections covering specific frugality issues, often written in a humorous and often self-deprecating tone that’s pretty appealing.
Obviously, when you read a lot of frugality books, you begin to recognize that some of the central points in each book appear in all the books – which is fine, since there’s a very good chance that this is the first book on frugality that the person has picked up and many of the repeated ideas are the very good ideas that a person should use. Bargain Junkie follows this pattern and spends a significant number of its pages on what I would call Frugality 101, which makes it an equally good “starter” book as many other frugality titles out there.
What sets it apart, though? Instead of doing a section-by-section review of the multitude of short pieces in the book, I picked out ten short sections that really stood out to me.
Television Is A Model For How Not To Live
Instead of looking at how people live on television as something to strive for, use it as a guide for something to avoid. After all, do you want a unique and wonderful life or do you want to just be a pale imitation of that guy in the television commercial? Do you want to live by your own rules, or merely imitate the crass consumerism of The Real Housewives of East Overshoe?
Extended Households
Living quarters are one of the biggest expenses in our lives. Yet, quite often, large portions of our living quarters go completely unused as we often get into the routine of using just a room or two in our home for most of our activities. So why not share that extra space? Consider a more communal living arrangement, where you actually live with friends and family and split the housing cost appropriately. It works surprisingly well and it can save a truckload of money.
Collecting
Collecting can be a worthwhile venture for frugal people provided two things are true. First, you’re quite willing to sell off what you’ve collected. Second, you’re willing to keep up with the hobby and stay abreast of prices and information about it. If you do both of these, you can often find a very lucrative hobby from hitting thrift stores and the like. I actually have a friend who buys and sells vintage video games who claims to have bought games at many thrift stores for fifty cents and resold them for hundreds (think Chase the Chuck Wagon). I’ve even done it myself with trading cards of various types.
Try It Yourself Before Paying an Expert
Home repairs? Try it yourself by reading documentation online and giving it a shot. Exercise? Try home exercise before buying a gym membership and paying a trainer. Virtually everything you do that you hire someone else for can be done yourself. So why not try it and make sure you actually need to shell out the money for someone else to do it? Exercise at home first and make sure you’re willing to keep up some routine before hiring a trainer, for example, and you might find you don’t even need one.
Go Monastic
Why do you have to live the same life everyone else does? If you live cheap and build up a bankroll, there’s no reason you can’t sell everything and live out of your kayak for a couple of years. The only thing keeping you from doing something completely different in your life is your own fears. Most of the big dreams people have are usually really cheap when you get right down to it, so it’s rarely the cost that keeps us from doing something like driving around the country in a solar car talking at public libraries.
Buy Your Own Presents
Quite often, gift-giving occasions come down to giving other people stuff they don’t want and you receiving stuff you don’t want. Why? Sit down and have a heart-to-heart with the person and, instead of just exchanging gifts, pledge to do something fun and unique together that you both want to do. You’ll probably save money and almost always wind up doing something much more memorable, enjoyable, and long lasting.
Craigslist/Freecycle First
Whenever you need anything, it’s usually worth your time to check the local Craigslist or Freecycle before going out and buying it. You can often find great stuff for pennies or for free. Heck, I’m learning how to play the keyboard on a free Craigslist item. Similarly, if you have something you’re getting rid of, put it up on that list with a low price tag. Quite often, it’ll be off your hands without breaking a sweat.
Large City Travel
If you’re traveling to a large city, study the public transportation information for that city online before you go. In many large cities, you can have a wonderful trip there without renting a car or paying for a taxi by simply knowing and using their public transportation system. My wife and I spent a week in London several years ago without renting a car or taking a taxi, even from the airport.
The Biggest Element of Dressing Well
The biggest element in dressing well isn’t buying clothes from the expensive stores. It’s self-confidence. You have to be proud of yourself no matter what you’re wearing. If your confidence is the same no matter what you’re wearing, then it really doesn’t matter much at all what you’re wearing. A person’s confidence and personality always comes through.
I used to be fairly nervous wearing things bought at thrift stores. “Won’t people look down at these secondhand clothes?” I would think. I’d be more self-conscious and then I’d find that people did think less of me than I would have liked. But it wasn’t because of the clothes – it was because I was so self-conscious, nervous, and shy. The clothes don’t make the person.
Hit Ethnic Restaurants – Hard
This is something I did myself in college and still do on occasion. In terms of the quantity and quality of food you get for the dollar, few places beat ethnic restaurants. Go there, order something intriguing, and you’ll find yourself leaving with a doggy bag containing enough food for two more meals or so. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve eaten leftover sauteed vegetables over rice where the price of each meal I actually got from the restaurant dish was cut down to the $2 level. I know some professors at my old college who almost exclusively eat (even to the exclusion of home food prep) at local ethnic restaurants.
Is Bargain Junkie Worth Reading?
Bargain Junkie feels very much to me like a collection of posts from a frugality blog with a very good writer and entertaining voice. The sections in the book are quick reads that usually each convey a central point or two or provide a checklist of highly specific tips and are packed with anecdotes that either make you laugh or breed familiarity with the reader.
Annie should start a blog, period. I would happily link to some of those entries and she’d probably end up earning more revenue from it than she would from this book over the long run. If you enjoy reading well-written, occasionally humorous blog post length articles about frugality and maximizing your buying dollar, you will enjoy this book.
My biggest problem with the book, actually, is in the design. To me, the design of the cover is poor to the point that I would have not picked up this book had I not had a vested interest in reviewing it. There are thousands of great books out there to read – I would probably walk on by this book on a bookshelf simply because there are so many other great books that I could be reading that didn’t give me a “go away, this book isn’t for you” vibe right from the cover. Yes, I know the cover was shooting for a certain demographic, but you can reach those people without giving a “go away” vibe to others outside that demographic.
Still, once I got past the cover, the book inside was quite worthwhile – an entertaining survey of frugal ideas.
Continue reading Review: Bargain Junkie …
From The Simple Dollar.
Monroe MI sales fliers Feb. 27
Here are the grocery and drugstore sales fliers that were in my home-delivery edition of The Monroe Evening News today:
- Busch’s Fresh Food Market (sale starts Monday) will have a 10 for $10 sale that includes Aunt Millie’s bread, Chicken of the Sea tuna, selected Progresso soups and Azteca flour tortillas. There are coupon matches for some of those items. There is also an English roast special bundled with free potatoes, carrots, onions, bakery bread and pot roast seasoning. Corned beef brisket is $2.99 a pound.
- Wal-Mart (sale starts Sunday) will have selected Cheerios and Wheaties at $2.50 a box. 4 pounds frozen tilapia for $10. Assorted storage totes for $4.50.
- Rite Aid (sale starts Sunday) will have buy one get one free deals on Revlon cosmetics, Angel Soft toilet paper, and lots of other products. Look for coupon matches in tomorrow’s newspaper on Excedrin. Single check rebate deals on Efferdent, Suave and Satin Care shave gel. Pepsi 12-packs on coupon offer 3 for $8.99. Milk will be $1.99 a gallon.
Continue reading Monroe MI sales fliers Feb. 27 …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Meijer shopping cart Feb. 28
I thought Sunday morning would be a good time to shop at Meijer since I’ve been so rushed on other errands during the past couple of weeks.
It turns out other people had the same idea. The checkout lines were pretty long.
But if you looked at the sales flier this morning, you might understand why.
I paid $48.38 and gave the clerk seven coupons for this cartload of groceries: 4 Snicker bars, 2 cans corn, 1 jar applesauce, 1 gallon milk, 1 package American cheese slices, 1 silver polish can, 2 cans pineapple, 1 four-pack of yogurt, 2 boxes of oatmeal, 2 cans crescent rolls, 3 12-packs of can beverages and 3 bottles of laundry soap.
No. This is not the typical “weekly shopping” trip. I don’t buy my groceries that way any more. I buy a box or two every month from Angel Food Ministries and fill in the rest of our grocery needs with whatever is on sale at the supermarkets.
My freezer is currently full of meat and bread. I have enough cleaning supplies except we really did need that silver cleaner for a specific item. We have plenty of pasta, cereal, tortillas and soup in the house. Today I just planned to buy what we specifically needed, and pick up a few deals.
Now, why would I buy three bottles laundry soap when I had two bottles of Tide at home? Reason: that $15 worth of laundry soap will last my husband and I six months. Yes, that’s worth spending money now to save money later.
I also normally cook oatmeal in a can, but haven’t found the right DIY recipe for maple flavored oatmeal. So I still buy that flavor in packets, but make my own version of the raisin or apple oatmeal.
Continue reading Meijer shopping cart Feb. 28 …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Monroe MI sales fliers Feb. 28
Here are the grocery, discount and drugstore fliers that were in my home-delivery edition of The Monroe Evening News today:
- Meijer has Kraft mac and cheese five for $3. Buy one get two free on Dynamo – this is a very popular promotion so be prepared. Kraft singles two for $4. Pepsi 12-packs three for $10. Assorted Meijer pasta 69 cents. Bundle offers on selected Kraft products – grab a flier. Senior discount day with 15 percent off general merchandise and apparel items will be Monday March 1.
- Kroger in Monroe, Milan and Dundee (sale starts Monday) has Cart Buster specials that include Green Giant veggies, Betty Crocker fruit snacks and Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Stew beef is $3.49 a pound.
- CVS Pharmacy has buy one get one free deals on Arm & Hammer laundry soap and Revlon cosmetics. Coke 12-packs are three for $10. Milk is on an Extra Care Bucks offer. Selected brand name cleaning products two for $5. Huggies and Similac on sale.
- Target has twin sheets at $8, bath towels at $3, women’s ballet flats at $10. Sale on selected child car seats. Buy any two featured items including Pampers Cruisers and Bounty Basic, get $5 Target gift card. Coke 12-packs are three for $11. Bring your own shopping bags to Target because you’ll get 5 cents off your order for every bag.
- Walgreens has buy one, get one free sales on NatureMade, Kleenex and Finest Natural. Selected General Mills cereals are two for $5. Coupons in flier for Ajax, Trident and Campbell’s soup. Assorted cold and allergy medicines $4.99.
- Kmart in Monroe has all furniture on sale. All storage totes are on sale. Selected Quaker cereal, oatmeal, cookies are five for $10. Pepsi 12-packs are four for $12. Dollar Days deals include Chips Ahoy! and selected Post cereals.
- Aldi has grapefruit at 39 cents, bananas at 39 cents a pound and grapes at 79 cents a pound. Seafood items featured this week include flounder fillets at $3.99 a pound and mussels at $2.99 a box.
- Big Lots has assorted DVDs at $5. A nonstick 14-piece cookware set is $37. All is two for $5. Little Debbie snack cakes at $1.25. Men’s and women’s polo shirts at $4.
Remember that the sales fliers don’t all run in the Sunday paper. Some of the stores schedule their ads for Saturday or Monday.
I found only one coupon book in the Detroit Free Press today. There was none in my Monroe Evening News, but that could be a stuffing mistake because the coupon balloon is on the front page. If you are following my 8 week plan, this is the week you want to purge the old coupons out of your coupon box or binder.
Continue reading Monroe MI sales fliers Feb. 28 …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Investing and the Time You Have
Martin writes in:
I’m glad to see you’re writing reviews of books like Payback Time instead of just blindly preaching about index funds. You’ll never make real money with them.
I’m including Martin’s note because he’s actually right: you’ll never be able to beat the market with an index fund.
But that’s not the point of an index fund.
Investment strategies like the one described in Payback Time or Real Money or any other book that describes an investment strategy that focuses on individual stocks have one thing in common. They all require a lot of homework.
Cramer, for example, in his excellent book Real Money (which is far, far superior to his television show) recommends holding at least ten different individual stocks at the absolute minimum to spread out risk – and basically suggests people should hold twenty or more. However, he suggests spending at least one hour per week per stock you own for homework, plus additional time to study stocks not yet in your portfolio. With a twenty stock portfolio, you’re easily approaching thirty hours per week every single week just to study your portfolio.
Some people who are passionate about investing may actually enjoy spending 1,560 hours a year studying their stock picks. Those people, however, are in the minority.
I’m not going to argue that there isn’t some financial gain for that time invested. I absolutely believe that individuals (who are investing relatively small amounts) absolutely can beat the market to a certain degree with significant homework.
The question is whether or not that time is really worth it.
For a person who is passionate about investing, those thousands of hours are enjoyable fun for their spare time. Studying stocks is their hobby – and it’s potentially a lucrative way to mill away the hours instead of consuming other forms of entertainment.
If you haven’t got that passion, though, all of those hours spent doing an appropriate amount of homework are going to seem an awful lot like work on top of the normal workload a person has. It essentially turns your free time into more work time just to squeeze a few more percentage points out of your investment dollars – and that’s if you can execute a good strategy well.
Alternately, people in that position can toss their investment money into index funds, sit back, and simply match the market. You’ll never beat the market, and you’ll likely never beat a focused person who does adequate research into stock picking.
But you also won’t be spending big chunks of your week doing something you don’t really enjoy just to earn a little bit more than you’re already earning.
To me, the answer comes down to this. If you have the passion, make individual stock investing your hobby. Study it. Invest using your research. You’ll be spending your time doing something you enjoy and probably earning some extra cash from it.
If you don’t have that passion, though, stick with index funds. They’ll earn well for you by simply matching the market and let you spend your spare time on something else that you value more.
Continue reading Investing and the Time You Have …
From The Simple Dollar.
Michigan property tax assessment process beginning
I mentioned this situation a couple of weeks ago when the government hearings started getting announced. But if you own property in Michigan, the annual property tax assessment cycle is starting.
The Detroit Free Press did some checking on southeast Michigan communities and concluded that this year, the regional trend is lower property assessments.
The story, Homeowners to find tax bill cuts easy, included an interview with a Monroe-area resident:
Larry Brooks, 61, an autoworker who lives in Raisinville Township in Monroe County, said he paid $282,000 in 2004 to have his dream home built on Aberdeen Lane and watched its assessed value soar to $345,000.
Then the real estate market crashed, and his home is now assessed at $104,000.
“It should be assessed at $96,000,” said Brooks who plans to appeal the assessment next week. “I’ve lost a lot of money. I’ve got a house I can’t sell.”
I’ve never gone through the tax appeal process. As long as the assessments are listed in what I think was a reasonable amount, I’m OK with that.
I do admit it was pretty shocking to see how much our property value had fallen during the past year when the assessment papers arrived last week.
Now, my husband and I are in Monroe for the long haul. We have family responsibilities in the Toledo area, but there are no real job prospects for us there. So we live and work in Monroe; and drive to Ohio as needed.
But this real estate market creates an awful situation for southeast Michigan families who need or want to move out-of-state for job reasons … and are stuck in homes whose property values collapsed in just a couple of years.
Continue reading Michigan property tax assessment process beginning …
From Monroe on a Budget.
The Contest – Results
The poll for the contest closed on Friday, with entry #1 way in the lead. Entry #1 was amazing, really, and Nicole H., who submitted it, clearly put a lot of work into it and deserves the $25 Amazon giftcard I sent her yesterday.
However, I wrote in the post, that I didn’t want this to be a popularity contest, but that is quickly what it became when an anti-me site encouraged everyone to come vote for #1. Oddly enough, my readers really liked entry #3. Why is it fair for people who don’t like me to got to decide the fate of my children’s room when I was giving the choice over to my readers, who went for entry #3?
Here’s a breakdown of what went on the comments.
There were 63 comments.
There were 19 comments for entry #3.
There were 13 comments for entry #1.
The other comments were a mix of support for other entries and various general suggestions.
There was a recurring suggestion of combining #1 and #3, so that is what I am going to do.
I am still trying to work out the exact spacing of the four-tier bunk and I’m thinking of making it three-tiered with a trundle and am considering how to fit a small platform below the bottom bunk if it stays four-tiered.
Since it is unclear who would have won had there not been interference, I sent out a bonus $5 gift card to the runner up, Entry #3.
Mattresses, Mattresses, Mattresses
As some of you who keep up on the gossip forums know, I recieved the mattress from a reader. Sending something for my boys was a kind gesture. It was a crib mattress, though, and I am building the bunk beds to different dimensions. We are planning on keeping Thomas in our bed until he is ready to join the boys in the big-boy-bed. Thus, I am selling the mattress and any money we get will be put toward the boys’ room.
Credit for the Entries:
Entry #1 – Nicole H
Entry #2 – Christena
Entry #3 – Andrea M
Entry #4 – Emily (me)
Entry #5 – Patty’s husband
More credit for more entries:
I’m going to do an idea round-up including the neat ideas I got in the form of submissions. It may even turn into a short series because there were so many good ideas. If those who submitted an entry have a blog and would like some linky-love, please send me the address to your blog from the same email address you sent the submission. Then, when I showcase your neato idea, I’ll include a link to your blog so people can see some of your other neato thoughts and ideas.
Comment not published? Check out my comment policy.
Copyright Under $1000 Per Month, 2009-2010
Continue reading The Contest – Results …
From Under $1000 Per Month.
Frugal Village: How do you be content with what you have?
When you are living on a budget, it’s easy for the money wish list to become pretty overwhelming.
The Frugal Village forum members are discussing How do you find contentment with what you have?
Continue reading Frugal Village: How do you be content with what you have? …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Humbled and Awed
Wow! I have to say I’m blown away (in a good way!) by all the comments to the Cookbook Bundle Giveaway. Thank you SOOO much! I can’t tell you how much they have meant to me. They have let me know this blog is doing what it was intended for. I thought I’d take a moment and respond to a few.
@ Robin says: “I have Econobusters set as my home page.” Wow! The ultimate compliment! Oh, and, “how does Molly have the TIME to research all these great resources and ideas.” Well, Molly has a team of dedicated helpers who take this blog and the Digests very seriously. If you’ve been getting the Digests this year, you’ll have read several of their frugal journey stories. Jen shared last month and Eleanor shares a great story this month. Watch for Dena’s in April. (If you don’t want to miss a Digest check out my new Molly Member Program)
I had several comments on Weekend Wonders. Last year we started off with a Mr. Linky so others could share their bargains as well. However, I didn’t get much response, so dropped that part after awhile. I was surprised to hear how many of you are looking forward to it starting up again. Can I get some feedback on whether you’d like to see Mr. Linky or you just like seeing my finds? Thanks in advance!
@Kim says: “I love the constant variety of methods to be frugal! You give so many different ways, that if one doesn’t suit my family (which is very rare), the next one will.” Pefect! That is my desire.
@ Samantha says: “This website was recommended by a friend so one thing I like about it is brings friends closer together.” LOVE that! I’d love to have a forum where we could all share. Maybe someday. (We can dream, right?)
@Debbie Taylor says: “My favorite thing about Econobusters is the way they inspire me to enjoy a frugal life!” THAT is my goal! It can be fun to be cheap!
@Mandy Thank you for your especially sweet compliments.
@Andrea says: “I think you are cute, humble, godly, and very practical.” WOW!! A girl could get a big head. Thank you very much! (I am pretty cute, aren’t I?)
@Michelle says: “I bought both cookbooks and have decided to use these recipes to teach my teenage daughters frugal cooking as part of our homeschool home economics class. I can’t think of any better cookbooks to use that show how to be frugal, nutritious and ever so easy recipes!” Great idea! Thanks, Michelle.
@Sally says: “My favorite thing is that nearly all that you offer is usable – even for a missionary in a third world country. My children made many of the gifts you posted at Christmas time and are still talking about the fun they had. You offer down-to-earth ideas for fixing up the home re-using items in different ways. You like freebies and aren’t afraid to admit it. In other words, you are just like your readers – and that’s why so many people love to visit your website! You are one of us.” Someone hand me a hankie, please. Truly touching.
@Lisa says: “I love all the free advice and look forward to every email I receive. It helps me get through my week like a good friend!” Wow.
@Lana says: “I love how every issue causes a lightbulb to go off over my head and I think now why didn’t I think of that. Econobusters is chalk full of simple yet practical ideas for all aspects of my life that can be taken as a whole or part and I can use them to bless my family. Thank you for helping me simplify my thinking.” Yay!
@Cheri says: “Your tips are simple, practical, and effective. The ideas encourage me and my 13-year-old daughter who eagerly reads your ideas for saving money, often in very fun and creative ways. Thank you for blessing us all!” Excellent! How encouraging to know your daughter is reading.
I can’t possibly respond to all the comments, but just want to let you know that my team and I have been deeply touched by your sentiments. Thank you so much! OK, I know you want the cookbooks, but still . . . lol
Have a great (and frugal) weekend!
Continue reading Humbled and Awed …
From Econobusters.