I think we are steadily moving towards our goal! The student loan pay off date is a tentative March! MARCH It was supposed to be April but we are getting enough back in taxes to go ahead and kill. I also got accepted into UofL again! I am finishing up the paperwork and will mail it tomm, hopefully get into advising pretty quickly and get on with this school finishing stuff! WOOT!
I currently have a ton of Brussels sprouts that I need to eat. Those are pretty much going to go with every meal this week. I also have zucchini to finish up, but I just figured out the correct way for miso soup so I can put them in that to finish them up. YUM.
In other news, Joe and I had our money talk at Outback of all places. Haha! I'm sure the waiter was like, these assholes have no money, since I had the checkbook out and we were budgeting out stuff. I'm glad that Joe and I are on the same page about money. It's so awesome to have a spouse that follows your beliefs and vise versa.
I have no real tips for this blog at the moment. My canning is done for the moment until the garden season tips off. So I am out!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Frustrations!
So I found out that my boss did not report my 09 1st quarter earnings! How frustrating! That means I will have to go down to the unemployment office next week with my old paycheck stubs and prove that I actually did work. YUCK.
Joe has been hinting at me working only pt for awhile. Apparently the REALLY likes me home. He said if I can find something in the morning and be home mid-afternoon to cook and clean he would be happy. Honestly, I would be happy. I'm kinda having fun just being a housewife, it makes me think *gasp* I want a kid. HA!
As far as finances go? We're fine. Even with the screw up from my old boss. Sure we have tightened the budget a little, but eh. Remember kids, there are bills that come FIRST.in fact, lets go over these:
1.) The house
- Mortgage payments are the FIRST thing that I budget for every month. I don't care what our checking account looks like, its the first thing that comes out of the checkbook. In fact the payment isn't due till the 1st of the NEXT month, but I like to debit it while I have the money to do so.
2.) The utilities
- Lights and water are IMPORTANT. These are the next items. I need water to cook, shower, launder and to some extent use the bathroom. I need electricity to cook, not so much light. If I had a gas stove I'd still need the electric company. One day I'd like an all wood stove......
3.) Food
- Basic people! I am currently canning and stockpiling. I would like a year in the stockpile but I think realistically I can fit about 6 months worth in our house. I need food next to survive.
4.) Insurance
- This is the deal breaker and important. Joe and I have car, home, health, dental, and life insurance. If I worked a job where they offered it I would decline. I like choosing for myself what I need.
5.) Student Loan
- This is pretty much killed. We have about 7k left on a 21k loan! Tell me thats not dedication. If worse came to worse my next payment isn't due till 2014.... but I am fairly certain it has a death wish in April.
Those are how I itemize out my bills, in that order. If something happened, the bills would still be paid like that. Its important, in my own mind, to put the necessities FIRST, then worry about the rest. Shelter, food, and light are the most important to me, hence the top three.
That concludes this informative post. Hopefully in the next few days I can post even more useful frugal stuff! Oh, and change the horrid color scheme.
Joe has been hinting at me working only pt for awhile. Apparently the REALLY likes me home. He said if I can find something in the morning and be home mid-afternoon to cook and clean he would be happy. Honestly, I would be happy. I'm kinda having fun just being a housewife, it makes me think *gasp* I want a kid. HA!
As far as finances go? We're fine. Even with the screw up from my old boss. Sure we have tightened the budget a little, but eh. Remember kids, there are bills that come FIRST.in fact, lets go over these:
1.) The house
- Mortgage payments are the FIRST thing that I budget for every month. I don't care what our checking account looks like, its the first thing that comes out of the checkbook. In fact the payment isn't due till the 1st of the NEXT month, but I like to debit it while I have the money to do so.
2.) The utilities
- Lights and water are IMPORTANT. These are the next items. I need water to cook, shower, launder and to some extent use the bathroom. I need electricity to cook, not so much light. If I had a gas stove I'd still need the electric company. One day I'd like an all wood stove......
3.) Food
- Basic people! I am currently canning and stockpiling. I would like a year in the stockpile but I think realistically I can fit about 6 months worth in our house. I need food next to survive.
4.) Insurance
- This is the deal breaker and important. Joe and I have car, home, health, dental, and life insurance. If I worked a job where they offered it I would decline. I like choosing for myself what I need.
5.) Student Loan
- This is pretty much killed. We have about 7k left on a 21k loan! Tell me thats not dedication. If worse came to worse my next payment isn't due till 2014.... but I am fairly certain it has a death wish in April.
Those are how I itemize out my bills, in that order. If something happened, the bills would still be paid like that. Its important, in my own mind, to put the necessities FIRST, then worry about the rest. Shelter, food, and light are the most important to me, hence the top three.
That concludes this informative post. Hopefully in the next few days I can post even more useful frugal stuff! Oh, and change the horrid color scheme.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Fun Times
Soooo I lost my job a week ago. I was laid off. The good thing is, Joe and I looked at our budget about two weeks ago for this very reason since I was afraid this was going to happen. We set out a couple goals for the month because of this.
A.) We're not eating out this month
B.) We are going to be very careful where every cent goes.
C.) I've been learning how to live more frugally
Part C brings up an interesting point, that I think I have mentioned before; if it ain't broke don't fix it. I swear I could have lived during the Great Depression and could have survived. Every single piece of furniture in our house is used including all the tv's. Even our Wii is used! Our water heater is broken but still works. It requires us to turn it on manually each time we need it, but until it quits completely we will still use it.
Since I'm now laid off I am making an awesome effort to really make a lot of homemade prepared foods. Right now there is two stockpots on the stove full of beef bones and water. Tomorrow I'm getting a pressure canner and I'm going to can the stock. I can make almost 2 gallons of stock a lot cheaper than buying it.
I also found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, so once the stuff we have runs out, we are just going to make it. I'm going to get the garden going as well this year since I will have the canner and I can can for the next winter.
Hopefully we are still able to meet our goals this year of having the student loan paid off by April. I think we can still do it as long as we pinch pennies like never before. Part of it is me, I'm the spender in the household and so I am going to have to pause before EVERY purchase and ask what the opportunity cost of that item it.The canner will be money, along with the cans for the job, but the long term savings of it will be more than worth it. I hope to never buy stock again. In my food blog I am going to break down the costs and see if it was worth it. The only downfall to it is the amount of energy that is going to be used I am not sure how to calculate. HMMMM.
Anywho, that is the update at the moment. I will start actively looking for a job again next week probably, I wanted a minute to clear my head and figure out what I am going to do. Which I'm still not 100% sure.
A.) We're not eating out this month
B.) We are going to be very careful where every cent goes.
C.) I've been learning how to live more frugally
Part C brings up an interesting point, that I think I have mentioned before; if it ain't broke don't fix it. I swear I could have lived during the Great Depression and could have survived. Every single piece of furniture in our house is used including all the tv's. Even our Wii is used! Our water heater is broken but still works. It requires us to turn it on manually each time we need it, but until it quits completely we will still use it.
Since I'm now laid off I am making an awesome effort to really make a lot of homemade prepared foods. Right now there is two stockpots on the stove full of beef bones and water. Tomorrow I'm getting a pressure canner and I'm going to can the stock. I can make almost 2 gallons of stock a lot cheaper than buying it.
I also found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, so once the stuff we have runs out, we are just going to make it. I'm going to get the garden going as well this year since I will have the canner and I can can for the next winter.
Hopefully we are still able to meet our goals this year of having the student loan paid off by April. I think we can still do it as long as we pinch pennies like never before. Part of it is me, I'm the spender in the household and so I am going to have to pause before EVERY purchase and ask what the opportunity cost of that item it.The canner will be money, along with the cans for the job, but the long term savings of it will be more than worth it. I hope to never buy stock again. In my food blog I am going to break down the costs and see if it was worth it. The only downfall to it is the amount of energy that is going to be used I am not sure how to calculate. HMMMM.
Anywho, that is the update at the moment. I will start actively looking for a job again next week probably, I wanted a minute to clear my head and figure out what I am going to do. Which I'm still not 100% sure.
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