Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices

May 17th, 2008 Ginger

 
photo credit: ninjapoodles

I wrote about this last week but the continued coverage of those who receive food stamps is starting to piss me off.  Forgive me as I am a bit hormonal, but come on!  Food stamps were never meant to be the whole food budget, it is supposed to be a supplement!  If I read one more story about how they are feeling the pinch from only receiving $300+  for a family of 3 when there are a plethora of FREE or low cost food programs in their city I am going to SCREAM!

Those of us who work for and spend that money are paying taxes on it and they are not.  I am also assuming that if you are able bodied enough to go to the supermarket then you can get a part time job to make up for the difference!

• Work at the supermarket for a discount
• Go to the food banks BEFORE food runs out so that you can plan your meals for the month
• Cook smaller meals, most of us are eating 3 times the amount of food we need to live
• Save leftovers

I am usually on the side of the folks that are on welfare because there are some who truly need it.  However, the ones that try to work the government to the end that ALL their expenses are paid for and then cry foul when prices go up instead of  trying to get a job to make up the difference, frankly, well pisses me off.

My advice?

SPARE ME AND GET A JOB! 

Posted in Budget, Food Stamps, Groceries | Comments Off

Guest Post over at Clever Dude

May 16th, 2008 Kevin

Mike, the author of Clever Dude, recently put a post requesting some guest posts to add to his content. I replied back almost immediately and he put up my article titled Spouses, Finances, and Teamwork. Head on over to Clever Dude to check it out; let me know what you think.

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May’s Debt

May 16th, 2008 Mom

First off, I realized I’ve been making a mistake in calculating our debt payments. I was including our total mortgage payment, not just the principle and interest. So that messed my numbers up, but I’m too lazy to go back and update my past posts. I’ll just start doing it right from now on.

In May we made a total of $1,853 in debt payments and reduced our debt by $1,075 to $177,840. Which would mean we paid interest of $778. Which seems about right because we pay about $700 a month in interest on our mortgage and about $70 a month in interest on our car loans.

Here is the breakdown...

House	143,108
Van	21,051
Backyard	7,950
Car	5,731

I also added a new section to my spreadsheet that keeps track of the interest I’ve earned. Which is pretty fun. I haven’t included our retirement accounts, I might someday but for right now it’s just our savings accounts. So in April we earned $38.66. Cool! It’s more than I was expecting to have made in one month.

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The recession car

May 16th, 2008 LivingAlmostLarge

So to follow up the smart car, I have to admit something now, DH and I have completely stopped looking at cars.  We made a very conscious decision that even as our finances are getting better in someways, rising gas prices make bigger cars undesirable. 

We considered selling both our cars this summer and we would have about $8k from the sales. And we’d have another $3-5k saved to puchase a very decent cars for $12k.  Bigger sedan, probably we’d buy a subaru impreza or outback station wagon.

Anyway last night I mentioned how we had been considering selling our two cars for one nicer, newer, bigger car.  And DH said ”I don’t think it’s a good idea.”  Sure we’d save on insurance, but how much of that would be eaten up in gas costs?  AWD is not great for miles per gallon, but we still love snowboarding and on our dead end street it’d be fantastic.  So if we were buying a newer car we’d get the AWD we want. 

So we talked a bit more and while gas prices aren’t hurting us, we spend $120/month now and it will be $150/month from just increase in prices, it’s not horrible.  We fill one of our cars weekly or every 10 days.  But the truth is now it’s not the price of the vehicles holding us back, it’s the mileage.

We’d go from 30+ mpg to maybe 20 mpg.  This might increase our consumption to $200/month or more.  Plus AWD is more expensive to repair than either of our vehicles.  And we while we do carpool with each other and our roommate, we don’t need a larger car.

So this “recession” we’re in has forced us to reconsider moving up in car.  Instead we have decided it’s not worth it.  Maybe we’ll reconsider once we have kids, but for now, we’re sacrificing to live as cheap as possible.  By the way if you had told us 5 years ago we’d be making 6 figures and not buying a bigger car because of gas prices we would have laughed. 

Instead I wonder how people making less money manage to afford nicer cars that have horrible gas mileage?  If it were me, I might start crying at the pump.  At nearly $40 to fill our super tiny tanks DH nearly cried.  I can’t imagine us having a tank which cost $80-100.

 I imagine this summer’s rising prices will be crushing people’s budget.  I believe DH got a raise less than the increased cost of gas and utilities.  I’ll write later about how much our natural gas went up!  Just got the news in the MAIL today.

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Sneaky Ways to Save Money

May 16th, 2008 Kristy

We all know that saving money is hard, especially given the way the economy is going. It’s always the same thing. We say we’ll save on the next raise or when the car is paid off, but we never do. Savings has become something that we do when all of our other bills are paid off and, unfortunately, that’s not working for us. The reality is that there usually isn’t anything left over after we’ve paid all of our bills so we have to change our mindsets in order to achieve any savings.

Now, I say we because I have been guilty of this in the past. I’m very good at maxing out my contributions and then some to my retirement accounts; however, I’m not always so good with my liquid savings. Ideally, you want about six months worth of expenses saved, just in case. And in an economy where the job market is so uncertain, this really becomes important.

Now then, how do we build up a savings account and not feel the crunch anymore than we already do? Here are some tricks I’ve tried that have worked for me (and, they’re working for other people too because Bankrate.com posted a similar article about sneaky practices.)

1.) Treat your savings like a bill

I personally set my savings account up as a bill in my online bill pay that is automatically drafted every pay period. I tried having my employer just take a portion from my check and deposit it to savings, but that didn’t work because in my mind I still had that money. Thinking of it as a bill changes my perspective. I don’t think of that money as mine anymore. It belongs to the savings account. Ok, so technically it’s still mine; however, since I changed my mindset I haven’t pulled from the account like I would before when it was just a transfer from my paycheck.

2.) Live at least one raise behind

When you get your next raise, don’t include the extra money in your budget. Put that money in savings. You’re already used to living on the old salary, so instead of increasing your spending put the extra money away for a rainy day. Then, on the next raise, increase to what the previous raise was and put the rest away. You live behind the raises and it will help you spend less than you make, plain and simple.

3.) Get cash back

Anytime you go shopping and you’re asked if you want cash back, say yes. I know, I know. That sounds very defeatist to what we’re trying to accomplish, right? Not really. You’re not going to spend that money. Take and make a deposit to your savings or put it in a piggy bank you can stash away in your home. Don’t just leave it in the account and think you’ll transfer it because that rarely works out. Plus, as cash back you count it as part of the original purchase and then forget about it. Pretty sneaky, huh?

4.) Fast Food Jar

This works a lot like a curse jar where you add money when you curse. Every time you eat out at a fast food restaurant, add a dollar (or whatever amount you prefer) to the jar. This works on two things at once, if you think about it. If you eat out a lot, this method is going to show you just how much. Each time you add the dollar (or whatever you chose) you’ll see that jar building up with money. It’s great for your savings, but it’s going to make you really consider eating out. It does require some discipline, though. You can’t commit to this and then cheat because you don’t want to pay the jar a dollar. If you don’t think you can do this one, I recommend choosing other methods!

5.) Start your own laundry mat

Put a jar over the washer and dryer and each time you use either, add a quarter. Like the fast food jar, you have to be committed, but it’s a great way to see your savings add up. Once the jars are full, take them to your bank or local grocery store and exchange them for larger bills TO BE PUT DIRECTLY INTO SAVINGS.

Can you think of any other sneaky ways to save?

Posted in Budgeting, Personal Finance | Comments Off

A Look at our Wedding Budget

May 16th, 2008 JB

Well tomorrow is our big day!  We all know that the average wedding costs $28,000. When we set out to make our wedding budget we knew that we didn’t want to spend $28,000. But at the same time, we didn’t want to get married in the courthouse…. we wanted something in between. Looking at the money we had we shot for $2,000 to include everything (not including the engagement ring, but including the wedding band).

A couple ways we saved money were, I didn’t rent a tux… I have a nice black suit that I’ve only wore to my job interviews and I think it will look just as nice as a tux and will cost $0. Another one that I’m not quite sure if it was a good idea or not yet is, we didn’t get a photographer. We figured that there will be quite a few people at our wedding with their own digital cameras and we’ll setup some posed photographs after the ceremony. We should end up with some decent pictures. We didn’t get a DJ to do our ceremony. The reception hall we got rents out their sound system for $25, so we just burned our music onto some CD’s and will use that.

So, here is what we spent for our wedding:

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Need a Holiday? Try House Swapping!

May 16th, 2008 Melissa

Want to take a vacation, but the funds are too tight?  Try house swapping!  There are several variations of house swapping, but the main idea is that two parties agree to swap houses for a vacation. Besides the massive savings of not having to rent a hotel room, many times a swap includes the use of the family car and appliances.  This means you can save even more money by not having to rent a car or go to a laundry mat.   

So how does this work?

There are websites designed for house swapping.  A good one to try is Homelink.org.   For a $110 fee, you can advertise your home, with photos, in a directory and on the websites for twelve months.  This membership gives you access to the member-only WebPages.  For an extra $60 you can receive a print directory of the available homes available.  Intervac.com is another good site to try. 

Members of a house swapping, or house exchanging, site look through the prospects until they find one they are interested in.  Contact is usually made through email.   Then, the prospective swappers decide if they would like to do an exchange.   Your chances for finding a decent swap are higher if you live in a popular area.  If you live in a nondescript town in the middle of nowhere, find all the positives you can about your area to make it more desirable for a swap:  What makes your town unique?  Is there an interesting festival or event in your area?  Are there recreational activities within a short drive?  Do you have a great house to offer? House exchanges can be for any agreed-upon amount of time, but typically last about two-to-four weeks. 

Sounds great:  Free lodging, free car rental, and I can do my own laundry – (wait, is that a plus?) 

So, what’s the catch?  

Remember, it’s a house swap so while you’re enjoying the comforts and amenities of someone else’s home, strangers may be sitting in your favorite Lazy-Boy enjoying the game on your big screen television and using your – ahem – lavatory.   However, the upside is that having someone living in your house while you’re away is that your house isn’t left vacant, which can attract burglars.  With a little extra negotiating, you might even be able to have your fellow house swappers water your plants or feed your animals.    

Experience your vacation destination as a local

A bonus of house swapping as opposed to getting a room in a hotel is that you can live like a local.  When you lodge in a hotel, you’re usually surrounded by the “tourist traps”.  On the other hand, living in someone else’s house might put you in contact with different experiences, such as meeting the local people discovering their favorite hangouts.   

Is it safe?

You might worry about a stranger rifling through your belongings or doing damage to your property.   Fortunately, reports of such activity have been rare.  Most complaints seem to center around housekeeping issues.  You always want to have your house spotless for your guests, and you’ll want to leave your vacation house in top-shape for when the owners return.  You’ll also want to lock up any valuables for safekeeping while you’re away.   You and your fellow swappers will want to sign an agreement to work out the details:  What is included in the swap and who’ll pay for incidentals, such as long-distance phone calls and use of food items. 

House Swapping: A great way to vacation!

Have you had your eyes on traveling to see the castles in Europe or the Hawaiian volcanoes, but thought it would be too expensive?  Try house swapping; you’ll save a lot of money – and have a great experience.   

Posted in Credit Cards, Frugal Living | Comments Off

Dude, where’s my rebate?

May 16th, 2008 Seb

Unless you’ve been intentionally avoiding the news, odds are you know whether or not you have a rebate check coming your way. I could rehash the same old information about how much you’ll be getting, if any. But you’ve already done the math and know just how much Uncle Sam is cutting you a check for. But when is it supposed to show up?

The IRS is delivering the checks in two different ways. How you receive your check is dependent on how you filed you requested your 2007 tax refund. If you provided the IRS with a routing and transit number to your checking account, your rebate will be directly deposited into your account. If, however, you elected to have your refund mailed to you, your rebate check will be delivered to your courtesy of the United State Postal Service.

Direct deposits
Is your rebate check supposed to be directly deposited into your account? If it is, odds are you already received it. The last direct deposits should have gone out today, so check your account balance to see if you received a nice little gift from the U.S. government.

Mailed checks
So you decided to go the old school route by having the IRS mail you a check. Having your check mailed to you is quite a statement. After all, holding on to your rotary phone, pet rock, bell bottom jeans, and lava lamp just isn’t enough. A physical, mailed check is the only thing that can complete your vision. All kidding aside, the IRS will mail out checks according to the last two digits of your social security number:

00 - 09: May 16
10 - 18: May 23
19 - 25: May 30
26 - 38: June 6
39 - 51: June 13
52 - 63: June 20
64 - 75: June 27
76 - 87: July 4
88 - 99: July 11

So if you opted to have your rebate directly deposited into your account, you should have it by now. If, on the other hand, you went the snail mail route, you should expect to see your check anytime from a few days from now to the middle of July. If that’s the case, mark your calendar. You might still have a wait ahead of you.

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Expensive Lessons: Knowing When to Call it Quits and Call in a Professional, and the Price of Spinelessness and Regret

May 16th, 2008 Penelope Pince

Lesson 1: When Not to DIY

In the past year, we only went out an average of 1-2 times per month to run errands and our garage door therefore got very little exercise. One day last month, when I was leaving for my monthly grocery shopping trip, the door wouldn’t close. I left it to Madoline to figure out, and when I got home I found the door stuck halfway down and slightly slanted, having come un-aligned and with 2 of the upper wheels fallen out of the track on one side. Being confirmed DIY-ers, we tried to see if we could fix it ourselves, which involved me standing on the back of a sofa we had purchased at Goodwill (with the plan of re-upholstering it) and wrestling with the door, but soon decided it was best left to a professional and we made to by putting the wheels back in the tracks to keep the door from sagging and damaging the entire contraption.

Our biological father came to visit last week, and although I told him we needed to call a professional repairman, he thought he could fix it to save us some money. One and a half hours later, the door was more crooked, we had lost 3 more wheels, the tracks had been knocked out of place and the door was literally hanging. Furthermore, I found out after the fact that my father had severely endangered his own life, and even worse, MY LIFE, by unwinding the tension cable. And worst of all, he had damaged the door further so that what might have been some minor repairs became major repair, including replacement of the tension rod.

Lesson 2: The Price of Not Sticking up for Yourself

The only garage door specialist in our area is located about 40-50 miles away and they seemed uninterested in the job as they didn’t want to talk to us over the phone but instead told us to submit a request online, which we did twice (4 weeks apart) but to no avail. Fearing a total collapse resulting in further damage and expense as well as the insecurity of a half-closed garage door, we resorted to local handymen.

I went through the list of handymen in our area, and the first one I reached that wasn’t a voicemail told me he could fix ours for $150. He came over to take a look and said that he couldn’t fix the tension cables, which required specialists, but that he could re-align the door so that we could at least open and close it manually, and he might need to replace a few of the wheels and 2 brackets. He then gave me a quote of $225 for replacing 5 wheels and 2 brackets. So we agreed on 10:00 AM the next morning.

I got up at 9:30 AM the next morning (which wasn’t easy for me because I was up until after 4:00AM working on the computer) in anticipation of the handyman showing up at 10:00, but he didn’t show up until 10:30, using the following excuse: the weather and its effect on one’s desire to sleep in. So he fixed the garage door - replacing 1 wheel and 1 bracket - but told me after that we actually wouldn’t be able to open the door due to the damaged tension rod, which also requires a specialist.

We then had him fix a sprinkler leak in our front yard as well, a job he had agreed to do for $75, after which he gave me a total of $325 for the two jobs. Being somewhat muddle-headed and tired from lack of sleep, and even worse, a pushover (one of my worst traits when dealing with strangers), I wrote him a check for $325 without much argument except for asking, “So the garage door was $250?” to which he, of course, replied “Yes.”

After he left, I couldn’t stop thinking about the whole affair and kicking myself (mentally) for having been such a pushover. The quote of $225 had been for if he would have to replace 5 wheels and 2 brackets. Instead, he only replaced 1 wheel and 1 bracket, and he charged me $25 more than the price he had quoted me. To add insult to injury, we still can’t open or close our garage door as he had promised beforehand. (Not to mention his showing up a 1/2 hour late for having slept in.) If I had argued with him about it, I probably could have paid at least $50 less.

That night, I couldn’t sleep for thinking about all this and decided I would call him up the next day (yesterday) to ask about this and tell him I didn’t think what he did was right. But the next day, the check had already cleared our bank account (he must have driven straight from our house to the bank) and I decided it probably wouldn’t have done much good anyway and the conversation probably would only have aggravated me more. So I decided to just chalk it up to a valuable lesson learned about the price of being spineless. And also to never hire this handyman again.

Posted in Finance, Frugality, Home, Repairs, home improvement, honesty, money | Comments Off

Its Offical - I’m looking for a New Job

May 16th, 2008 "Future Millionaire"

I knew this day was coming, every thing had been building up but the explosion happened yesterday. Yesterday, I have officially decided to seek a new job (in Atlanta). Wow -- even typing it for the blog makes it seem more final and more scary.

It's been a really hard decision for a number of reasons but I've weighed all of the pros and cons and have really thought out all of my options and I think this is the course I need to take. So as of yesterday, I'm officially one the job search. I'm going to take things slow thought, primarily because I have a large bonus coming from the project I just completed and it won't be distributed until September 19th. My second reason for taking things slow is that I'm the eternal optimist and I can't help but hope/wish/dream that things will change and I can stay with my current company.

Since deciding that I need to seek a new job I've been trying to think out my action plan so here's what I've got so far:
-By Next Weekend update my resume
- Tuesday, May 20th have dinner with my old mentor to seek guidance
- Start contacting people I know that work for other GC's to feel out their job market
- Talk to my old boss about being a reference and if he has any suggestions of places to look
- Contact people through professional organizations that I'm involved with.

Any other good ideas?

Posted in Career | Comments Off