I don't seem to be that great at saving money. Try as I might, I just really really like to give in to consumerism, ESPECIALLY when it comes to my kids. For myself I will buy clothes at Goodwill, only shop for clearance makeup... OK, I have my weaknesses too, I guess. I like good quality coffee. I like Coke Zero. I like candy (a cheap indulgence, but one that adds up calorically AND financially). But for my kids I am a sucker. They want a new t-shirt with their latest cartoon character? Well, OK, it's only $7 and they COULD use clothes for the new season. The latest Disney movie on DVD? Well, I'm sure that's a necessary indulgence. After all, I grew up with a massive collection of Disney movies... See? Any waste of money for my kids can be justified. I'm trying to tell myself that they are kids, they don't REALLY care about all that crap, and whatever it is they will lose it, break it, or stain it, so there is no point in spending the money. But here are some areas that it IS fairly easy and, to me at least, obvious to save money. Yet somehow they are often overlooked.
Cable television. I have read so many budgeting articles and books that tell you to write out your fixed expenses and include cable on that. Guys, you don't need cable. I know many of us grew up on cable. I sure did! I was born the same year as MTV, so to me cable is like my favorite sibling. I LOVE the freedom of turning on the television and finding someone to watch at any hour of the day. There are channels that play nothing but music videos, nothing but cartoons, nothing but soap operas and game shows! It's AMAZING! ...but it is not necessary. If you are looking to save money, this is a good place to do it. Thanks to the wonders of the internet you can watch just about anything you want on Hulu. And any show worth watching (that isn't on network television, which you can get without cable- duh) will wind up on DVD and you can borrow it from the library. OK, I know, not all libraries are as great as mine and you might not have that option. Netflix is an option that is still technically a luxury but is a lot cheaper per month than any cable you can get.
Movies. Occasionally I go to a movie with a friend. It's a good way to get out of the house and it makes me feel like a kid again, when I went to the movies every single weekend. It's a nice splurge, but again, not necessary. The DVD comes out within three or four months. Few movies are worth watching on the "big screen." Wait for the DVD and have a nice night in. All the free popcorn you can eat and none of the cell phones. Oh, and you save a buttload of money. Cheap DVD options include your library, Netflix, or the newest option, Redbox. At $1 a night Redbox is awesome (as long as you remember to take it back), and you are more likely to get the newest releases than at the library.
Generics vs Name Brands. There are certain brands I'm partial to. Like I said before, I LOVE Coke Zero. I often buy the name brand on that one because there aren't too may generic sodas that I think taste as good. But keep an open mind on generics. I always try generics, but I've learned not to waste the money on a cheaper inferior product. That being said, a lot of generics are as good as national brands, if not better. I LOVE Target's store brand diapers. I didn't discover these until my youngest was about 18 months old, and I could just kick myself for the years I spent buying name brands. I could have been putting that extra money in my kids' college funds instead of on their bottoms (of course, on the diaper issue, cloth diapers will save you the most and be the most eco friendly, but I was never brave enough to try it). We buy tons of store brand products, but I also shop with coupons. I buy whatever will be the best deal for me, and whatever tastes the best. Did you know a lot of stores are coming out with organic and "all natural" lines of their own brand too? How great is that?? Finding affordable, healthy food is one of my favorite things!
These are just the money savers off the top of my head. There are obviously other things like, you don't ever need to eat out, and you don't need to buy books or music (again, that's what the library is for!). I'll share more with you as I think of them. Until then, happy budgeting!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Adventures in Baking Soda
As I've discussed before, I've been trying to move into the realm of nontoxic cleaners. A few weeks ago I discussed my amazement with vinegar. Today I have discovered the joy of baking soda.
Yes, baking soda! Not just for baking anymore! Actually, I've always known it could be used to soothe an upset tummy, brush your teeth, and put out a grease fire. So when I picked up my white vinegar in bulk, I bought a giant bag of baking soda as well. It has gone unopened all these weeks, sitting in my laundry room staring at me accusingly, a glaring reminder of all the items I've wasted money on when I get my mind set on starting some kind of new crazy project that I then quit a couple of weeks later.
Well. Two days ago I put a load of clothes in the washer. Then I forgot about it. Until this morning. Sadly, this has happened before. You know how it goes. You open the washer and say, "please don't stink, please don't stink." And it stinks. Then you look at the dryer and think to yourself, "well maybe if I put an extra dryer sheet in..." but you know from experience that doesn't help. So you're left with running that load AGAIN, wasting money on the energy and water you're using, not to mention all the extra soap you have to use to get that stench out. We've been known to have to wash the load three more times AND use extra dryer sheets in order to make amends for my absent mind.
So this morning I am going through all those thoughts when I happen to look down, and a light was hitting that giant bag of baking soda straight from Heaven. Angels were singing. It was a Moment.... OK, maybe not. But at least I saw the baking soda and thought, "what can it hurt?" As the water was running to refill the washer, I dumped in about half a cup of baking soda. Guess what, folks... it actually worked! It only took one run-through and my clothes smelled fresh and clean! This time I'm pretty sure angels really DID shine down from Heaven. I am DEFINITELY a baking soda convert.
Other uses for baking soda include using it as a scouring cleaner (like the powdered Comet, except it's not going to chemically burn the skin off your hands when you decide to scrub the sink with no gloves); an odor eater (you can put it in the garbage, the fridge, the diaper pail. I like to put some in a little cup or saucer or something and put THAT in the fridge rather than an entire box-- doesn't that seem a little excessive? Why waste the whole box?); cleaning your drains (I read two different ideas for this- in one you just dump the soda down the drain while running warm water. In the other you make a solution of 1/2 soda, 1/2 white vinegar and dump it down the drain, let that sit for a few minutes, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain. Personally I'll be trying the second, it just sounds more credible.); AND you can make some mean biscuits too!
For more ideas, check out the Arm & Hammer website or The New Homemaker.
Yes, baking soda! Not just for baking anymore! Actually, I've always known it could be used to soothe an upset tummy, brush your teeth, and put out a grease fire. So when I picked up my white vinegar in bulk, I bought a giant bag of baking soda as well. It has gone unopened all these weeks, sitting in my laundry room staring at me accusingly, a glaring reminder of all the items I've wasted money on when I get my mind set on starting some kind of new crazy project that I then quit a couple of weeks later.
Well. Two days ago I put a load of clothes in the washer. Then I forgot about it. Until this morning. Sadly, this has happened before. You know how it goes. You open the washer and say, "please don't stink, please don't stink." And it stinks. Then you look at the dryer and think to yourself, "well maybe if I put an extra dryer sheet in..." but you know from experience that doesn't help. So you're left with running that load AGAIN, wasting money on the energy and water you're using, not to mention all the extra soap you have to use to get that stench out. We've been known to have to wash the load three more times AND use extra dryer sheets in order to make amends for my absent mind.
So this morning I am going through all those thoughts when I happen to look down, and a light was hitting that giant bag of baking soda straight from Heaven. Angels were singing. It was a Moment.... OK, maybe not. But at least I saw the baking soda and thought, "what can it hurt?" As the water was running to refill the washer, I dumped in about half a cup of baking soda. Guess what, folks... it actually worked! It only took one run-through and my clothes smelled fresh and clean! This time I'm pretty sure angels really DID shine down from Heaven. I am DEFINITELY a baking soda convert.
Other uses for baking soda include using it as a scouring cleaner (like the powdered Comet, except it's not going to chemically burn the skin off your hands when you decide to scrub the sink with no gloves); an odor eater (you can put it in the garbage, the fridge, the diaper pail. I like to put some in a little cup or saucer or something and put THAT in the fridge rather than an entire box-- doesn't that seem a little excessive? Why waste the whole box?); cleaning your drains (I read two different ideas for this- in one you just dump the soda down the drain while running warm water. In the other you make a solution of 1/2 soda, 1/2 white vinegar and dump it down the drain, let that sit for a few minutes, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain. Personally I'll be trying the second, it just sounds more credible.); AND you can make some mean biscuits too!
For more ideas, check out the Arm & Hammer website or The New Homemaker.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Bitches on a Budget
So there is this whole genre of books dedicated to personal finance for women. Of course we've always had the Suze Orman stuff, but this is different. It's like non-fiction chick-lit. Given my love of all things chick-lit AND my fascination with personal finance, I thought this might be the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
Not so much.
Bitches on a Budget is actually my second dip into this type of writing. The first was so unimpressive and irrelevant to my life that I can't even remember it. Bitches started out pretty much on the same level for me.
First of all, I apparently am not a "bitch." (Yeah, try telling some of my exboyfriends that!) A bitch, as defined by this new fad in books, is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. She's a ruthless professional climbing her way to the top, but still likes to be feminine and treat herself to the nice things in life. You will find these bitches, apparently, spending A LOT of money. They like spa days, professional grade makeup, and incredibly expensive clothing with brand names I'm not even sure if I pronounce correctly... If that's you, super. Maybe you can get something out of this book. But it's pretty much the opposite of me, or any person I would ever hope to be.
This book is full of ideas on how to compromise your insanely high expectations and still maintain your standard of living. For example, instead of shopping at the highest end retailers and buying the most expensive apparel, check out the moderately priced stuff-- you'd be surprised what great, professional looking clothes you can get from Banana Republic! And there's no reason to never enter a Sephora again. You can go and only buy the lipstick!
Well, yesterday I visited the Banana Republic website and, while I admit I do like their clothes, I felt like I'd been punched in the gut when I looked at the prices. Bear in mind, I do not work outside the home so I have no need for professional looking clothing. Maybe I would feel differently if I did. And Sephora? Never even been there. For me a splurge in clothing is visiting Target or Old Navy. Makeup splurges involve buying Cover Girl instead of the dollar stuff from Wal-Mart. And I've got to say, the author TOTALLY lost me when she said one should never shop at Goodwill, because that is a place for the truly poor and one should never take advantage of that unless they have to. She claims shopping at Goodwill is like stealing from the poor.
OK, I thoroughly disagree. I love Goodwill! I was turned on to it about 8 or 9 years ago by this hippie-chick who was all into protecting the environment. Why buy new clothes that were made in sweat shops when there are perfectly good used clothes out there that are just waiting for a second life? Think of all the clothes you get rid of. I get rid of at least a couple of garbage bags a year. Every house in America probably does that. That is more clothes than the poor alone need. And by the way, Goodwill still costs money. I am still purchasing things, not taking them off the homeless guy's back. I would never go to a church or other organization that GIVES clothing to the poor and take them, but if I can get cute shirts for $3 a piece AND be doing my part to keep more crap out of landfills, I'm going for it. I have even been known to buy shoes from Goodwill (though I totally Lysol them first).
That being said, there were parts of this book I enjoyed. I liked the chapter on eating well and exercising on a budget. It's easy to fall into that trap of buying junk and convenience foods because they seem cheaper than buying whole foods, but it is true that you can get great on a small budget. I work towards that goal all the time. I also thought the chapter on traveling was fun, though I'm not sure how plausible it is.
Overall, I was not the audience for this book. To be perfectly honest, it made me want to buy more! I WAS perfectly satisfied with my life until I learned of all the cool stuff I'm missing, that apparently are the things that "Bitches" are going to be downgrading to. Now I'm considering redecorating my home and buying better makeup. I didn't think I needed it before, but now I'm not so sure... If you're a Bitch, give this book a shot. Maybe you can find something in it that I didn't. If you're REALLY on a budget, do not be fooled by the title: this book is not for you.
Not so much.
Bitches on a Budget is actually my second dip into this type of writing. The first was so unimpressive and irrelevant to my life that I can't even remember it. Bitches started out pretty much on the same level for me.
First of all, I apparently am not a "bitch." (Yeah, try telling some of my exboyfriends that!) A bitch, as defined by this new fad in books, is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. She's a ruthless professional climbing her way to the top, but still likes to be feminine and treat herself to the nice things in life. You will find these bitches, apparently, spending A LOT of money. They like spa days, professional grade makeup, and incredibly expensive clothing with brand names I'm not even sure if I pronounce correctly... If that's you, super. Maybe you can get something out of this book. But it's pretty much the opposite of me, or any person I would ever hope to be.
This book is full of ideas on how to compromise your insanely high expectations and still maintain your standard of living. For example, instead of shopping at the highest end retailers and buying the most expensive apparel, check out the moderately priced stuff-- you'd be surprised what great, professional looking clothes you can get from Banana Republic! And there's no reason to never enter a Sephora again. You can go and only buy the lipstick!
Well, yesterday I visited the Banana Republic website and, while I admit I do like their clothes, I felt like I'd been punched in the gut when I looked at the prices. Bear in mind, I do not work outside the home so I have no need for professional looking clothing. Maybe I would feel differently if I did. And Sephora? Never even been there. For me a splurge in clothing is visiting Target or Old Navy. Makeup splurges involve buying Cover Girl instead of the dollar stuff from Wal-Mart. And I've got to say, the author TOTALLY lost me when she said one should never shop at Goodwill, because that is a place for the truly poor and one should never take advantage of that unless they have to. She claims shopping at Goodwill is like stealing from the poor.
OK, I thoroughly disagree. I love Goodwill! I was turned on to it about 8 or 9 years ago by this hippie-chick who was all into protecting the environment. Why buy new clothes that were made in sweat shops when there are perfectly good used clothes out there that are just waiting for a second life? Think of all the clothes you get rid of. I get rid of at least a couple of garbage bags a year. Every house in America probably does that. That is more clothes than the poor alone need. And by the way, Goodwill still costs money. I am still purchasing things, not taking them off the homeless guy's back. I would never go to a church or other organization that GIVES clothing to the poor and take them, but if I can get cute shirts for $3 a piece AND be doing my part to keep more crap out of landfills, I'm going for it. I have even been known to buy shoes from Goodwill (though I totally Lysol them first).
That being said, there were parts of this book I enjoyed. I liked the chapter on eating well and exercising on a budget. It's easy to fall into that trap of buying junk and convenience foods because they seem cheaper than buying whole foods, but it is true that you can get great on a small budget. I work towards that goal all the time. I also thought the chapter on traveling was fun, though I'm not sure how plausible it is.
Overall, I was not the audience for this book. To be perfectly honest, it made me want to buy more! I WAS perfectly satisfied with my life until I learned of all the cool stuff I'm missing, that apparently are the things that "Bitches" are going to be downgrading to. Now I'm considering redecorating my home and buying better makeup. I didn't think I needed it before, but now I'm not so sure... If you're a Bitch, give this book a shot. Maybe you can find something in it that I didn't. If you're REALLY on a budget, do not be fooled by the title: this book is not for you.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Just a little update...
Creating and maintaining a daily blog is HARD! I don't know how people do it. They clearly have a better schtick than I. I have the upmost respect for my fellow bloggers who can find things to say daily and find people to read those things. And the ones who are even fortunate enough to make money off of it, you are amazing. Many years ago my uncle had a blog. This was back in the day before Blogger and WordPress, when you actually had to work at it a little bit. He had people from all over the world visiting his blog. Me, I'm just lucky if I can get a handful of people I actually know to read it.... Though maybe if I updated it occasionally that might help....
My world got slightly busier for a few weeks due to school, but now I'm back in the land of the unemployed and uneducated! I have a few ideas for posts coming up, so I will strive to pick up the pace a bit. I am in the process of reading a book that I have tons of opinions on, so once the book is done I will share those with you. I'm also exploring the ideas of fun (and free) stuff to do now that the weather is starting to warm up. Maybe I'll throw in some random posts that have nothing to do with anything, too, just I can say I updated. Let me add that if there is anyone out there reading this, pass it on to your friends. Don't give up on me just yet. I'll do better about updating. Promise.
My world got slightly busier for a few weeks due to school, but now I'm back in the land of the unemployed and uneducated! I have a few ideas for posts coming up, so I will strive to pick up the pace a bit. I am in the process of reading a book that I have tons of opinions on, so once the book is done I will share those with you. I'm also exploring the ideas of fun (and free) stuff to do now that the weather is starting to warm up. Maybe I'll throw in some random posts that have nothing to do with anything, too, just I can say I updated. Let me add that if there is anyone out there reading this, pass it on to your friends. Don't give up on me just yet. I'll do better about updating. Promise.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
My New Friend, White Vinegar
A month or two ago, my dishwasher ran out of Jet Dry. I totally forgot about adding more, until my dishes starting coming out like this:
Yeah, it's really gross. What's grosser? That was a month or two ago. On Sunday I finally did something about it.
Now don't get me wrong, I half-heartedly tried. I added Jet Dry, I changed detergents, but the fact is once that stuff is on there, it ain't coming back off without some elbow grease. OR vinegar!
Yes, while looking up how to clean cloudy dishes, I discovered that vinegar can do pretty much anything. I read a lot of books about frugal living, and pretty much all of them mention vinegar at some point or another, but I had no idea! First of all, behold the awesomeness of using it to clean cloudy dishes:
I soaked the dishes in a sink full of vinegar water (about 1 cup of white vinegar to a sink of hot water) then ran a sponge over them and let them air dry. Who knew?! Well, probably my grandma. But not me! Now this is also super convenient for me because I have been trying to get away from using a lot of chemicals in my house. I bought some of that "all natural" all purpose cleaner made by one of those big name cleaner companies. Then I went on this big "keep the house clean" kick and realized how fast one really goes through a bottle of all purpose cleaner. Now I've realized that I can keep the house clean all the time naturally without breaking the bank. I got 2 gallons of white vinegar at Sam's Club for about the same price as one bottle of all purpose cleaner at the store. Then I bought a $0.98 spray bottle at the store and can now create my own all purpose, all natural cleaner. It's amazing! Apparently there are a million and one things you can do with vinegar. My favorite resource for vinegar goodness is The Vinegar Institute. Here's another good article about the great ways to use vinegar. So go out and buy some vinegar, and you'll probably never have to buy anything else again! (OK... maybe a slight exaggeration, but you never know...)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Month 2 Revisited
OK, February is over. I thought a short month would be easier. In some ways, it was. We did not have to borrow money from the Savings to cover the Checking, so that's a good thing! But by the end of the month, I was kind of holding my breath and hoping that paycheck would hit.
I looked over the statement for February and I think I've found our problem. See, I try to do everything in cash now. I've set it up so that all groceries and other similar transactions come out of nice little labelled envelopes that are filled on payday. Every 2 weeks we get paid, and every 2 weeks I load those kiddos up in the car and make an ATM run. I pull out all the money I need for my envelopes for those 2 weeks. This is what we did last time we set up a budget, and it works super well if you stick to it.... Unfortunately, we don't seem to have that down again this time...
Let's think about this. Every month we get 2 paychecks, I make 2 ATM withdrawals, then there's bills that are paid either through automatic deduction or check, let's say that adds up to 10 (I'm being generous here because I'm too lazy to go back and count and I want to give us the benefit of the doubt here). We also use our debit cards for gas (it's just easier to pay at the pump than go in with cash). That's about 6 transactions. That's 20 transactions that should occur in our checking account each month. Let's be REALLY generous and go up to 25, just in case I'm forgetting something. 25. How many transactions did our checking account see in February (a short month, remember)?
49.
Basically double what it should have. Wow. Talk about sucking! No wonder we never have extra money to pay down debts! No wonder we're always just squeaking by from paycheck to paycheck! We clearly don't understand this self-imposed "no debit card use" rule at all! WHY???
Because life happens. I'm looking over it and there is not a single payment to Taco Bell or any of the fun stuff we used to waste money on. There's a payment to the dentist. There's insurance on Hubby's new iPhone. And so on and so forth. Most of it is stuff that we just never even thought about and didn't have the cash set aside for. Or trips to the grocery store that were not planned and we didn't have the cash on us (we don't exactly carry around all of our cash all the time- we're weird but we're not crazy!). Of course there are a couple of instances of lack of communication between Hubby and myself. Like car washes. I noticed a few payments to the car wash on that list. Well, if you look at my car you know that I do not take any pride in it. It gets me from point A to point B and I do not care how it looks, so I'll go a year without a car wash. Maybe if it gets really bad I'll hose it down, but that's about the extent of it (yeah, I know the benefits to washing your car, I know that it's going to rust together or rust apart or whatever and I would save a lot of time and money in the long run if I gave it regular washings, I just really don't care). But Hubby is another story. He likes a clean car. He takes car maintenance seriously on his baby. I understand this and I actually have an envelope set aside for the specific purpose of maintaining his car. But he clearly does not know this, because the envelope has cash in it that goes untouched while my checking account has 3 car washes plus an oil change on it. Obviously this budgeting thing is not something I should be doing alone, but should be a family affair. Then maybe we would all be on the same page as far as how car washes should be purchased.
We had our taxes done last night. Due to our new home purchase, we had to file a paper return which means a few extra weeks of waiting for the big payout, but I'm actually OK with that. I remember a time when that little refund was the difference between bills getting paid or not. We're very lucky to not be in that place anymore. Sure, refund time is fun, but it's not necessary to our survival anymore. I cannot wait to get it though because budgeting it will actually be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to sit down later today and see where exactly we can put it. I'm thinking something like this: 10% to charity (I actually have a lot of fun trying to decide which worthy organization should get this money-- though really I know if I have it my way I'll give it all to our local PBS station, no contest), 10% for totally selfish purposes (we already have picked out our big splurges, Hubby and I each get our own, no joint purchases this time around!), and the rest for paying things off and saving. You know what? I just might buy that $30 water saving shower head too! That's right, Big Spender in the house today (or in 5 to 7 weeks when we get our refund, I should say).
My March resolution is to provide a better blog. I can't guarantee it will be a daily occurrence, but that's what I'm going to shoot for. So check back regularly, as I'm sure to have tons of fun and excitement to share with you. Until then, happy budgeting!
I looked over the statement for February and I think I've found our problem. See, I try to do everything in cash now. I've set it up so that all groceries and other similar transactions come out of nice little labelled envelopes that are filled on payday. Every 2 weeks we get paid, and every 2 weeks I load those kiddos up in the car and make an ATM run. I pull out all the money I need for my envelopes for those 2 weeks. This is what we did last time we set up a budget, and it works super well if you stick to it.... Unfortunately, we don't seem to have that down again this time...
Let's think about this. Every month we get 2 paychecks, I make 2 ATM withdrawals, then there's bills that are paid either through automatic deduction or check, let's say that adds up to 10 (I'm being generous here because I'm too lazy to go back and count and I want to give us the benefit of the doubt here). We also use our debit cards for gas (it's just easier to pay at the pump than go in with cash). That's about 6 transactions. That's 20 transactions that should occur in our checking account each month. Let's be REALLY generous and go up to 25, just in case I'm forgetting something. 25. How many transactions did our checking account see in February (a short month, remember)?
49.
Basically double what it should have. Wow. Talk about sucking! No wonder we never have extra money to pay down debts! No wonder we're always just squeaking by from paycheck to paycheck! We clearly don't understand this self-imposed "no debit card use" rule at all! WHY???
Because life happens. I'm looking over it and there is not a single payment to Taco Bell or any of the fun stuff we used to waste money on. There's a payment to the dentist. There's insurance on Hubby's new iPhone. And so on and so forth. Most of it is stuff that we just never even thought about and didn't have the cash set aside for. Or trips to the grocery store that were not planned and we didn't have the cash on us (we don't exactly carry around all of our cash all the time- we're weird but we're not crazy!). Of course there are a couple of instances of lack of communication between Hubby and myself. Like car washes. I noticed a few payments to the car wash on that list. Well, if you look at my car you know that I do not take any pride in it. It gets me from point A to point B and I do not care how it looks, so I'll go a year without a car wash. Maybe if it gets really bad I'll hose it down, but that's about the extent of it (yeah, I know the benefits to washing your car, I know that it's going to rust together or rust apart or whatever and I would save a lot of time and money in the long run if I gave it regular washings, I just really don't care). But Hubby is another story. He likes a clean car. He takes car maintenance seriously on his baby. I understand this and I actually have an envelope set aside for the specific purpose of maintaining his car. But he clearly does not know this, because the envelope has cash in it that goes untouched while my checking account has 3 car washes plus an oil change on it. Obviously this budgeting thing is not something I should be doing alone, but should be a family affair. Then maybe we would all be on the same page as far as how car washes should be purchased.
We had our taxes done last night. Due to our new home purchase, we had to file a paper return which means a few extra weeks of waiting for the big payout, but I'm actually OK with that. I remember a time when that little refund was the difference between bills getting paid or not. We're very lucky to not be in that place anymore. Sure, refund time is fun, but it's not necessary to our survival anymore. I cannot wait to get it though because budgeting it will actually be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to sit down later today and see where exactly we can put it. I'm thinking something like this: 10% to charity (I actually have a lot of fun trying to decide which worthy organization should get this money-- though really I know if I have it my way I'll give it all to our local PBS station, no contest), 10% for totally selfish purposes (we already have picked out our big splurges, Hubby and I each get our own, no joint purchases this time around!), and the rest for paying things off and saving. You know what? I just might buy that $30 water saving shower head too! That's right, Big Spender in the house today (or in 5 to 7 weeks when we get our refund, I should say).
My March resolution is to provide a better blog. I can't guarantee it will be a daily occurrence, but that's what I'm going to shoot for. So check back regularly, as I'm sure to have tons of fun and excitement to share with you. Until then, happy budgeting!
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