I Have A Job!!!

I just finished signing the paperwork to start my new job on Friday. I am pretty excited especially since some of the work I will be doing I have never done before. So I will get to learn new things. I am going to work for another Government Contractor in my area.

It is strange, I feel like I have gone back 16 years. 16 years ago I started working for a small Government contracting company that a friend told me about. In 16 years I went from a Secretary to a Web Developer and learned so much from the people I worked with. The company also grew to be very large.

On Friday I will be going to work for a small Government contracting company that a friend told me about. See, networking does work. I hope that in the next 16 years I will continue to learn as much as I did with my last job and the company grows as large only better than the last company I worked for.

Good luck to all of you who are still looking for a job and keep networking.

Happy Anniversary To Frugal Sister

Today is our 1 year anniversary. It seems just yesterday that I set up the blog and called Margaret only to discover that she was about to do the same. So we started the blog and supported each other through our struggle to regain control over our finances. It has been a long road and we have learn a lot. We still have struggles and will continue to work to over come them.

Here are some of my favorite articles:

Pod Hotels - great to review again since vacation season will be upon us soon.

Tightwad Gazette - getting started

Amy Dacyczyn author of Tightwad Gazette update

Would You Go Dumpster Diving?

Duck Tape and T-Shirts - how to make a really cool bag with a t-shirt and duck tape.

Borrowing tools and other items from online neighbors.

Book Swap Web Sites.

We would like to thank Aunt Paula for helping us with articles as well as other family members.

I hope that you continue to visit our blog. I hope to keep my goal of writing a blog article a day which may be a little more difficult with other obligations I have now, but I am going to try. Please give us a list of subjects that you would like to read about. Here is to another great year!!!

RIP Walgreens EasySaver Program

I was not aware of this rumor before I found it to be true today. I went to Walgreens this morning to get the free after register rewards items in this weeks ad and I asked for the new EasySaver catalog since the April issue expired yesterday. The manager told me that the EasySaver program had been discontinued and that Walgreens was now going to have more items that offer register rewards. I did a google search and it seems that there were rumors out there since the end of February. I am not sure why I didn't hear about this before today, but I was very disappointed. I like register rewards, but I will definitely miss the extra 10% rebate every month. RIP EasySaver....

Frustrating Setbacks, Ugh!

As I have posted before, one of my goals for this year is to pay off my car loan by July 31st. I was one month ahead of schedule up until this week. When I got out of the shower Tuesday, I was greeted by a swarm of termites in my bathroom. We just remodeled our bathroom 2 years ago and replaced all the damage the water and termites had done over the years. I refuse to gut our house again, so I called in some professionals, something I usually do not do. I got some quotes and the best deal I could find is through a national company and it is still going to be really expensive to do a treatment for my house and nearest surrounding yard area. I am more than frustrated, but I also don't want to put the time, effort, and money into remodeling again. At least not for a long while.

The second set back is kind of self inflicted. Since the mortgage rates are currently 2% less than what we are paying now, we have decided to refinance. Not only will we reduce our interest rate, but we are also going to reduce our term to 15 years. Our monthly payment is going to go up a little, but nothing we can't handle. The issue is the closing costs. I have been trying different loan scenarios to see how low we can get our closing costs and it seems that any way he structure it, it is going to suck. I wouldn't even refinance, but we don't plan on moving any time soon (if ever) and it will be a huge savings on the interest even if we do make additional payments on our current mortgage. I am going to have to take money out of our savings to cover the closing costs and I am not very happy about it. I have worked really hard to save up what we have and I feel like taking money out of savings for anything less than an emergency is like a crime or something.

I was also planning on going on a couple of small roadtrips this summer, but I think I am going to rethink them. Now is not the time to be stretching myself thin especially in this economy. I will have to see how quickly I can recoup some of these costs.

The Ruff Report

I have been reading "How To Prosper During The Coming Bad years In The 21st Century" by Howard Ruff.

It is an interesting book, but he goes a little overboard on a couple of points.

The biggest points in the book is to buy gold and silver; stock up on food; and get out of debt.

According to Mr. Ruff you should buy actual silver and gold coins as an investment. I have been hearing this for years now and I wish that I had listened. Don't buy silver or gold certificates or stocks. In the short run, you may lose a lot of money overnight. Kind of like the stock market these days. The for sure thing will be to actually buy the coins. Now I feel bad about gripping to my husband for his obsession to collect old coins. They are actually worth a lot more these days because they are made out of actual silver, gold, and copper. Unlike now they are just plated.

The other big point that he stresses is to stock up on food. He predicts that if the economy does collapse you will be able to feed your family without to much worry for at least six months. You can also use the food as a kind of currency. One thing you should definitely have in your stockpile is honey. Bacteria cannot exist in honey. That is the reason people use to use it on wounds back in the day. You can put it in your tea and heal a cut with one jar.

Other things you may want to consider stocking up on is wood or charcoal for heating and cooking, water, and fishing and hunting equipment. Mr. Ruff predicts that things are about to get really bad economically to the point were we will be fending for ourselves. Yes, I was reading this section when I wrote Blizzards, Tornadoes, and Floods Oh My.

I don't want to send out the message, and neither does Mr. Ruff, that the world is going to end. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared for anything. Here in the midwest we have gone through a major flood, months without electricity because of bad spring storms, and gas shortages. I know that I feel better when the news reports give bad news that I am already prepared to deal with the crisis. I don't have to race to the stores and try to beat out others to get supplies.

He does stress the benefits of being debt free. In one section he explains the how and why you could use money from a home loan to make money. These days, I don't know that I would recommend doing this. But he does have a good argument to max out a home loan and make money invest the money. He stresses that you should not use the money to buy a home entertainment center or a new car.

This is a good book to read. It has a lot of information on how to store some food items and a tone of web sites and reference materials. He does go on and on and on about silver and gold which I think he could cut out some of it. It gets old after a while.

Mr. Ruff does have an offer on his web site to get a free update on the book and even get a book for free. You can sign up for his newsletter as well. I will stock up on food, learn how to do some things on my own, and of course pay down my debt. When I get back to work I may even buy more silver and gold coins to my husbands delight. Check your local library for a copy of "How To Prosper During The Coming Bad Years In The 21st Century".

How Do You Do It?

I am not working right now, but I feel that I am still just as busy. Now I know why retired people say they are busier than they ever were. I now have time to do all the projects that I have been putting off. I even have a hard time keeping up with 3 blogs. So how does someone keep up with a Blog, Twitter, FaceBook, and a YouTube pages?

Even looking for a job it is recommended that you have a Twitter, FaceBook, and a LinkedIn page to get connected to people who will be able to help you get back to work. Well if you spend all your time updating your networking pages, when will you have time to actually submit resumes at the other web sites you are suppose to be monitoring?

My butt is going to sleep and my fingers are getting tired just working on the computer all day as it is. How in the world do you get anything else done? How do you have that much to say especially about yourself. Do parents now limit computer and cell phone time as well as TV time to make the kids get out and learn about nature?

I guess I am just old school. After being off work for 3 months, I am just now watching TV a couple nights a week on a regular basis. I am watch more news than ever. The time I am spending on the computer is working on projects to make a few extra dollars and searching for a job. I have tried Twitter and FaceBook, but I just can't get into it. I only text people because they don't have email and I don't have time to have a lengthy conversation.

Do you have all of these pages? How do you keep up with them all? And Why?

Blizzards, Tornadoes, and Floods Oh My

Are you prepared for a disaster. Stocking up on food, water, and medications have been a theme long before Y2K. I know that my parents and grandparents would stock up on food every fall to be prepared for a long winter. Out of habit I would do the same. Even now I have a full freezer, fridge, and cabinets. But is it enough?

Some articles that I have read say that you really need at least 6 months of food and medication stashed away for emergencies. You should also have a container of food and clothes fore each family member in case you need to evacuate. This means going through the containers every six months and exchanging clothes for the season and rotating food and medication.

Don't forget about the pets. Every disaster there is always a news report about how many animals were left behind and in need of rescue and medical attention. Add a container for each pet as well.

I know here in the Midwest we have not had a major fire or a major earthquake in decades, but have been forecasted to happen any second. In more resent years we have gone through floods, long term power outages, and tornadoes. The better prepared you are for emergencies, the emergency becomes less traumatic and less stressful.

Stocking up for emergencies doesn't mean just for natural disasters. On Frugal Sister we have been stressing that you save money for emergencies like being laid off or car repairs. Stocking up on food and medical supplies for economic crisis will help your family get through tough times as well. If you already have plenty of food and medications when you are surprised by a layoff or some other financial disaster you will be prepared to still put food on the table for at least 6 months and use money to pay bills.

Here is a list of web sites that have checklists for different kinds of emergencies and ready made supply kits.

Emergency Essentials
Ready.gov
Preparedness Plus
American Red Cross

April Challenge Update

Since I changed my challenge of the month, I have also changed my diet dramatically. Therefore, I have had to go to the grocery store a couple times to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I really can't wait until my garden is ready for harvest. However, I still have not used my credit card for anything other than gas. I am really proud of myself because my "save for later" shopping cart on Amazon.com has about 30 items in it. I am waiting to get my gift card reward to Amazon from mypoints.com to buy some of the items I really want. Today I ran out of whey protein and stevia so I actually had to go to the mall to go to the health food store to get more, whereas I usually just buy it online. I haven't been to the mall since Christmas time, so it good to go there at least. I also had to go to Lowes so my DH could buy a new belt for the lawn mower and mosquito repellent. Then we went to Target to get Disney's Bolt for my DS since I had a gift card.

For the rest of the month, I am going to continue to resist shopping online and try to reduce unnecessary spending. I have lots of plans for the summer and I want to continue to save up to pay for those plans.

Benefits of Being Frugal

At a meeting last week with a few girlfriends the Tightwad Gazette came up. Of course I had to find my copy and was browsing through it. There is an article about how life changed for a woman who went from spending and being in debt to saving and enjoying life and her family.

She discovered that after crunching the numbers she didn't make any money going to work after all the expenses and child care. So she quit her job and bought the Tightwad Gazette and started making changes. She cooks at home and saves over $40.00 a week on groceries. She is paying off the debt and is enjoying spending more time with her family. Her children even started a new lunch trend at school. Other children want to trade their fruit snacks and pudding cups for pineapple muffins, pumpkin bread, home made granola and oatmeal applesauce bars. Her children have even learned the value of money. They buy books and clothes at garage sales, they are careful with books, toys, and clothes. When they are finished with them they sell them and use the money to buy new.

One thing that I have not done is learn to make new recipes. That will be my new thing that I learn the rest of this month. Like the lady in the article I am going to learn to cook all over again. My husband is already wrinkling his nose, but we will see how it turns out. I am hoping that this will help me lose some weight as well as save money. (My husband doesn't like healthy anything.)

Some of the things in The Tightwad Gazette are outdated, but most of the tips and information can still be used today like the article I summarized above. If you are one of us that did not have a choice and are no longer working outside the home, using some of these tips can help you get through this rough time and stay healthy at the same time.

What changes can you make to save money and lead a happier, healthier lifestyle?

Saving Money

Today is Coupon day at Shop-n-Save. If you spend more than $50.00 you will get $10.00 off your bill.

Last night I was talking with some fellow Business Professional Women's Club members and we were talking about ways to save money on groceries and books. Today I received an email from Oprah that talks about these sames subjects.

I have published a couple of articles on ways to save money on books. In the article on Oprah.com they had a couple new web sites that you could visit like Zwaggle.com. Zwaggle is a Parents dream. A little like E-Bay but much easier and a lot cheaper since it is almost free.

If you have a really nice event coming up, you could rent clothes, jewelry, and hand bags instead of buying them.

"A couple of the biggies: Avelle (www.avelle.com) and From Bags to Riches (www.frombagstoriches.com), which rent designer handbags, and Borrowed Bling (www.borrowedbling.com), which of course focuses on jewelry. Most of these sites have a range of membership options that allow you to rent at a discount, or you can rent as a guest for full price.

Before you sign up, a few things to think about: How often are you going to rent items? Are you renting something that you'll use a lot, in which case, would buying it actually be more economical? Is insurance included if the item is lost or damaged? Sometimes it is, but often it's not. The last thing you need is a big bill when you're trying to cut back."

If you don't feel comfortable renting you could borrow. There are online borrowing web sites popping up everyday. You do need to be careful but NeighBORROW (www.neighborrow.com) and Lending Circle (www.lendingcircle.com) seem to be reliable web sites. Zilok.com is one that I mentioned in a January article.

Recycling is big and growing. You could recycle items that you no longer want and get something that you do need. "Freecycle (www.freecycle.org), has over 4,000 local groups. Members post items they want to give away, and you can reply if you see something you want. Because of this network's popularity, I had a little trouble getting anything I e-mailed for—time is of the essence—but there are a number of smaller alternatives that work in much the same way: Freesharing (www.freesharing.org), Sharing Is Giving (www.sharingisgiving.org) and FreeUse (www.freeuse.org) are worth a look."

This is a big one, and the person who wrote this article says it best.

"A couple of notes on all of these: If you're asked to pay a fee—even in the form of exorbitant shipping—for something that is supposed to be free, it's likely a scam. Also, in this era of identity theft, it's really important that you not give away any personal financial information that shouldn't be needed in a transaction like this, including your social security number.

Because of the economy, new sites like the ones I've mentioned are popping up all the time, so always read the fine print and check to be sure the site lists contact information—a working e-mail address, phone number or both—so you can get in touch with a real person with questions."

Let me know how these web sites have save you money.

Is It Really Over?

Some highly visible people are saying that we are starting to climb out of the crisis. Are we really or are these people just trying to convince us this is over so that we will start spending money again.

I won't believe anything they say until I see the employment rates go back down and people living in tent cities are back in homes. So far all I have seen is Mayors forcing people out of the tent cities and into the dangerous streets. More and More people I talk with are losing their jobs, not finding them.

Sorry President Obama, I don't believe we are starting to come out of anything and it is as bad as the public says it is, not what the Politicians want you to believe. I think that I will stick with my plan.

That plan is to get a job, replenish my emergency fund, and pay off my bills as quickly as possible. And buy gold and silver and a farm (hopefully with a barn big enough for all my husbands stuff) as a back up plan.

I have to agree with Suzie Orman and Howard Ruff, it is not going to be better for two to three more years if then. That forecast complies with our past history. In the Great Depression the politicians didn't even acknowledge we were in a depression for four years. It took another year to two years to climb back out. As the saying goes, history seems to repeat itself.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like any politician, but I think there are some thing President Obama is doing right and a lot of things I think he is doing wrong. But am not an economist or a politician, so I really have no basis to judge. I do have a lot of evidence that says he is wrong about our crisis. It is not getting better it is getting worse and until you admit it, you can't fix it.

Update High Interest Savings Accounts

Everyone is telling you to save money and put it into a high interest savings account. Were are those high interest savings accounts? They no longer exist. The banks that did have 4.0 to 5.0 percent interest have dropped below 2.0 percent.

The three banks that had and so far still have the highest interest rates available are:

• FNBO Direct has a savings account that earns 1.9 percent.
• HSBC Direct has savings account interest of 1.65 percent.
• ING Direct is offering 1.5 percent interest on their savings accounts.

Check each account for details and pick the best account to fit your needs.

Before opening an account you may want to check the local banks to see what they are offering. In my area a bank offers 4.5 percent interest on checking accounts. There are a bunch of rules, but I have no problems following.

You won't make a lot of money with these interest rates, but it is better than most other banks with less than 1 percent interest. The same bank that is offering 4.5 percent interest on checking accounts is only offering 0.10 percent on savings accounts. It is not hard to figure out which account you should be using.

I have savings accounts in ING Direct and HSBC Direct. I just started hearing about FNBO Direct about six months ago. I thought about transferring money into an FNBO Direct account, but the difference between what they are offering to what I already have is not big enough to go through the process of opening yet another account.

In my case I have earned $137.40 in interest in the last three months. The high interest accounts have done much better than my 401K. That is the reason I have been putting most of my money into the checking account.

To increase your earning power, transfer money from a low interest account to a higher one and see how much money you can earn without having to work hard for it.

WiseBread and Selling Books

Last August I published a post about selling books and how much I didn't make using Amazon.com. According to Wise Bread, I just didn't know what I was doing because she made some money.

When she was in college she was able to make a profit of $5,000 to $6,000 a year. That isn't a lot of money, but like she said, it paid the rent and some groceries in certain months.

I don't know that I would use Amazon.com to sell my books though. They charge $39.99 a month for charge cards, etc and a per book selling fee. Half.com seemed to work much better for me. They only charge a very small percentage of the sale price on the item sold. I sold more books and was able to actually make a few dollars. It was great!

I put the books on Half.com and if I don't sell them by the time I have a yard sale, I will sell what I can in the yard sale. Any left over books will go to the resale shop for the animal shelters in my area.

One thing I did learn from WiseBread's article was that you can get some really good buys at sales and then turn the books around and sell them online. Some of the books she bought were rare books that brought her some major money. The rare books she sold on E-Bay. I have only sold books that I bought for myself and after reading I decided to make a few extra dollars by selling them at the highest price I could. Now I may take it to the next level and see what I can do from yard sales and Library sales using WiseBread's advise.

I do have a lot of books already that I bought because I wanted to read them. If I could just read a little faster to find out if I like them enough to keep or sell it would make a lot of room in the storage unit and around my house and put a few extra dollars in my bank account. It looks like I need to read faster and check the local Library to find out when there next sale is. This may become a lot of fun!

Self Sustainment

I have been reading a lot about how to survive this world crisis and what most people say is become as self sustaining as possible. What does that mean?

If possible grow your own food. Learn to make your own jelly, bread, spaghetti sauce. Raise chickens and/or cows. Maybe even learn to hunt for food. Another words become a farmer.

If you don't have the space or money to have a farm, try a group or neighborhood garden. This spread out the initial cost of equipment and seed as well as time maintaining the garden. You can take turns weeding and watering the garden as well as harvesting the fruits and vegetables.

You could do what the Coupon Diva has done. She teaches others in her neighborhood to buy food using coupons, sales, and store programs. She has more than enough food that if a neighbor needs something and she has an abundance of it she just gives it to her neighbor and the next time that item goes on sale you replace it. Start a neighborhood food pantry exchange.

I will be depending on my sister and parents for fresh fruits and vegetables this summer. I am going to be working to clean out the freezer and space for some canned goods. I hope that someday I will have the room to have my own garden and a few chickens like Margaret.

Learning to sew, crochet, knit, work on your car, make a cabinet, basket weaving, or some craft that will help you create the things you need to survive.

Take a month to learn a new skill. I have been tinkering with taking a class at the local college for basic mechanic. Right now though I am working on the skill to say no. That is another post though. Right now, pick a new skill to learn and add it to your schedule.

April Challenge Update

Ok, so my April Challenge of not spending money has gone terribly awry. Monday, I went to Walgreens and didn't spend any actual money because I had coupons and my gift card from my EasySaver rebates, but I went to CVS and spent $40. They have a deal this week that if you buy 3 iTunes gift cards, you get $10 back in ExtraCare bucks. Since I love music, I could not pass up this deal, so I got 3 $15 iTunes gift cards and some other things for my DS for Easter. I also had to go to Farm & Home to get feed and fence for my chickens on Tuesday, but DH and I had 20% coupons good for Tuesday only. Then yesterday, I went to the grocery store and spent $40 on stuff we were out of and today is coupon day at Shop N Save, so I am going there too.

So I think I am going to try a new challenge for the remainder of the month. I am not going to do any online shopping or grocery shopping (except milk) for the rest of the month. After tonight, I should have a nice stock pile of food that should last me for a few weeks. And I do not need anything as far as books, clothing, pet supplies, farm supplies, so I should be good to go. My goals are to not have any purchases on my credit card except for gas and to use up some of my surplus items. I also need to be more resourceful, so putting a freeze on my spending should encourage that. As always, I will keep you posted on my progress.

Getting Out of Debt Emotionally

This is my problem, emotional spending. Of course there are a lot of books out there that deal with getting out of debt using numbers and the "just don't spend" attitude. But now books are starting to deal with behavior and emotional spending which I feel at least 95% of us fall in this category.

We spend money to make people think we are better or just as good as everyone else. We spend money to have the best and newest toys. We spend money to make ourselves feel better or look better. We use excuses like I need that new toy to keep up with technology for my job. I need to spend money to make me look better or feel better so my spouse or significant other won't cheat on me. I need to spend money so that the Jone's won't think bad of us.

In all actuality, if you waited at least six months to a year that new toy will have all the bugs worked out and it is 10 to 20 percent cheaper than when it first went to market. All the most expensive cloths, makeup, plastic surgery, tanning sessions, or shoes will not make you look or feel any better than less expensive clothes. Spending money to be better than anyone is just going to get you into as much debt or more than the Jone's. Most people who have the biggest, best, most up-to-date items are deep in debt. The real competition is not the stuff you have but how deep in debt can you get before you wake up.

In order to change you need to change your thinking process and attitude about things. It does seem that the new fad is how much can you save and still buy the things you want. This is Awesome!! The thinking processes and attitudes are changing to what you can get for free. I know Margaret brags about how much she saves and everyone in the family is always wondering how she does it. The problem is that people ask her how she does it, but know one (but me) actually uses any of her tips. Why because it requires sacrifice.

Just like dieting, no one wants to quit doing what is making you fat or getting you deeper in debt because that means you don't get to do what you want or what makes you feel better in the moment. If you change the attitude to being grateful for what you have and the things you can buy while saving money will make you feel better for a much longer period of time.

Changing from sacrificing to an attitude of gratitude will help you feel better about life, stress is reduced, and getting out of debt becomes easy. Changing your spending habits are a lot like dieting, until you change from a diet attitude to a life style change, you will only lose the weight temporarily. Going from a spending to a savings attitude will take time and a life style change.

Start by making one change for 30 days at a time. It is a proven fact that making a change for 30 days it becomes a habit. Make sure the change is positive to create a positive habit. For me it means not going to Borders, Best Buy, or Amazon.com. It means that I need to use what I have before I buy more. It means I need to stay home more or find better ways to spend time with friends and family without spending money. It means I need to stop listening to my husband whose motto is the more stuff the better. My challenge is being grateful for what I have instead of wanting more.

Time and Money

Get Rich Slowly has an article today about time and money that hit home. I know that I would spend every penny I could get my hands on if I could have more time with my daughter before she died. The article is about working as many hours as you can for every penny you can earn or cutting back on work and spending time with friends and family. What is a good balance for you?

Late last week one of my husbands distant cousin passed away. We spent the weekend with his family. His Dad and step-mom, aunt and uncle came in town for the funeral. Alan's father and uncle do not get along, but were cordial to each other. I actually enjoyed spending time with all of them. It is sad that the only time we make in our lives to spend time with friend and family is on holidays and at funerals.

This is something that I struggle with every day. I have so many projects going and so many ideas that I want to accomplish it all. Then on the other hand I become depressed because I don't spend time with my friends and family like I use to.

There is also the challenge on what to spend money to have someone else do and what you should take the time to do yourself. This is my husbands biggest challenged, making the decision to spend money or do it himself. For instance, he wants to do all the work on our cars and his parents cars like oil changes and breaks. The problem is, is that he works 12 hours a day and he has a list of to-do items from his mother that is taller than he is (he is 6ft 5 in.). It takes him 3 hours to change the oil because he is constantly talking and not working. So I am sneaking off tomorrow morning to get the oil changed and my breaks looked at. In my opinion it is worth the 1/2 hour at the shop and the money to pay to have this done so that he can do other things that need to be done like helping his parents cut down dead trees or cleaning out our garage. Plus we get into a fight every time he does an oil change on my car.

This year I am working to finish projects that I have started and making time for family and friends. So far I think I am doing an OK job with the projects but not so good on the spending time with family. I hope to correct that in the upcoming months.

What choices will you make between spending time with friends and family and spending or making money? Take time to find that balance for you.

Start You Garden

It is that time of the year to start your gardens. I know that my sister and her husband have already planted some veggies. If you have not started planning your gardens you should start very soon.

My husband doesn't agree with having a garden in our yard, but I am planning to plant a few veggies this year in containers. At Walgreen's they have an upside down planter for tomatoes that we plan to try out.

There are plenty of ways to grow your own food. You can ask a friend or family member if you could share a garden. If they have room for a garden you can plant enough food for both families and share the work and cost.

For other sources on ways to grow food, check out the book featured in this article or go to the web sites in Other Sources.

Other Sources:
About.com
Suite101.com
waysidegarden.com

Balance in Health and Spending

I did take some time to watch some TV and read some articles this week. It is surprising how certain subjects seem to stand out. This week was the word balance. If you don't have balance in your life, life feels fragmented and crazy.

I have found that when one aspect of my life is out of balance, everything in all areas of my life goes crazy. Right now I am working to get money and health back in check.

For the first time in my life my doctor told me to lose weight. I had gained 18 pounds last year while going through IVF. It really shows. I hate not being able to fit into my cloths. So I am really working hard to lose a few pounds. I am forcing myself to be more active to burn more calories in a day. Monday my elliptical was delivered and I plan to put it together this weekend. That will help a lot to get me back in shape.

I am hoping to get word on a job within the next week or so. That will help my finances get back in balance.

So now I am trying to get myself back to balance and figure out how to stay in balance once I get there. It is very hard to keep family, finances, health, work, and friends all in a happy balance and not be stressed doing it all.

What are some of your suggestions on how to keep your life in balance?

March Spending Freeze Results for Lil Frugal Sis

Much like Tina, I could have done better with my Spending Freeze last month. Never the less, I did pretty well. I only spent $220.83 in groceries for the month (a decrease from last month) and $763.07 on "Other" items (an increase from last month). We only went out to eat one time and that was to McDonalds for lunch. The remaining "Other" items included a dumpster rental so my DH could clean up his outdoor clutter, $80 on some used tools that my DH couldn't live without, a trip to Lowe's for landscaping supplies, farm supplies, 2 FOID application fees (for hunting purposes), and miscellaneous trips to CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and Target. We also spent $227.94 in gas for both of our vehicles. I did see in a decline in my credit card bill this month, so I know the spending freeze was somewhat effective.

My goal for April was to see how long I can go without spending money on anything besides gas. However, today DeepDiscount.com was having a sale on Nickalodeon DVD's, so I bought 2 (BOGO free) and I also bought a new workout DVD. With free shipping, the total was only $22.66 so I don't feel incredibly guilty. Besides I am in need of a new workout DVD because I workout to the same DVD's every week and they are getting a little boring. Therefore, I am going to start this new challenge on Monday. I would start it immediately, but we have to go buy new work boots for my DH tomorrow and go to breakfast with my parents for their anniversary. So, starting Sunday, I am going to see if I can go the rest of the month without spending ANY money. This will differ from a spending freeze in that, I am not writing out a list of "legal cheats" and I am not going to go shopping at all, just quick trips for absolute necessities. Some of the things I have prepared for this challenge are: I have a gift card for Walgreens with at least $25 on it to buy milk and other necessities, I am fully stocked with meat, pasta, and other food, I have a ready supply of eggs at all times, I have some ExtraCare bucks for CVS for Easter supplies, and I am not out of anything at the moment.

I am also going to teach myself how to can and make jelly this month and my MIL is giving me several dozen canning jars for free. I just need to sneak over to my parents house and "borrow" my mom's pressure canner and other canning supplies so I can get started. I have several gallons of berries in my freezer from last years harvest and I need to make something with them soon.

I will keep you posted on my progress for this month and let you know when I do spend money and what it is on. I do know that I am not going to do any kind of spending challenge in May because there are so many events going on.

Suze Orman's Recession Rescue

Oprah has Suze Orman on today with a new action plan. I was able to watch half of it before I had to leave for class. I plan to watch the rest of it tomorrow. But all the information is on the Oprah web site.

One thing that did catch my attention was the information Suze gave on COBRA. According to the new stimulus package you only have to pay 35% of the cost for insurance for the first nine months. Anyone that lost their job after September 1, 2008 is still eligible for this reduced cost of insurance. You can read more about it on Oprah: COBRA Insurance Coverage.

Suze has also changed her mind about paying off Credit Cards. She explains: if you pay off the credit card and you are struggling. The Credit Card companies will close your account which limits your available credit in case of an emergency. It also changes your credit score. That is the reason she says that you need to save money and have an 8 to 12 month emergency fund before you pay off your credit cards.

In the show Suze gives her 5 step recession rescue plan. The number one thing is live on half of your income. The audience got real quiet on this one. Try living off half your income for 6 months. This will help you save at least 6 months of an emergency fund. Two: stash your cash instead of paying off credit cards. Three: make the stimulus package work for you. Four: Make your home affordable. Five: Look at what you have, not what you had.

There is a lot of great information in this program. Go to Oprah.com for all of the details.

Last Months Spending Freeze

Sorry about not being around the last couple of days. I have been very busy going to job fairs, interviews, and spending some time with family. It didn't seem that we did very well on the spending freeze. But according to the spreadsheet we did decrease our spending by $2,000.

We ended up spending more than originally expected due to advertising for our businesses and going to the Hunted House Convention. We ended up buying some glow necklaces to give away to kids at parties and weddings.

I also did spend some money on books that I didn't need and a few other items that were not necessary. But with me not working and doing a lot of my job hunting online, I didn't spend as much as I normally do on gas.

I was happy with the $2,000 savings though. I would love to save another $2,000 this month.

How did you do on your spending this month?