As I looked through my inbox this morning, I was getting all excited with all the advertisements for Black Friday sales. Really, that sweater that I absolutely ADORE is 40% off? Old Navy has their entire store on sale for 30% off? Ooooh, those gorgeous earrings are 60% off! And all those warm turtleneck sweaters from Lands End are on sale too! This is wonderful! Think of all the money I can save!!!
.... But really, how much would I save? If I spend money on things that I want but don't need, even if they are on sale, how much am I saving? I have come to realize that when I don't have the budget for those things, it's ridiculous to pick them up anyways simply because they are on a great sale! In fact, unless I have the budget for them, even sales on things I need shouldn't sway me. In two days, I will have a fresh 2 week budget, and then, and ONLY THEN, can I justify spending more money.
Now, don't get me wrong. A couple of months ago there were more diaper sales than I could budget for. We went above our budget and used ...*gasp*... the credit card... on diapers. Some of those boxes of diapers were close to 50% off and I just could not pass that up. I don't have a budget for splurging when there's a good sale, but on occasion, I do it anyways. We didn't have to buy diapers for over 2 months! In that 2 months, we had to fix the van a couple of times and other stuff went wrong and I ended up being so thankful that the diaper budget could be used on other necessary things. (Can you hear the "BUT" coming?)
But, (here it is,) that was a rare occasion in which I know 100% for certain that I would absolutely need the product no matter what. When I get close to running out of diapers, I need more. That's just a fact of life for us right now. I knew for certain that spending more now would save me money later on something that I cannot possibly live without.
A sweater? Those earrings? All those awesome tunic style shirts that will actually cover my ridiculously long torso? Yes, if I have the budget, I can grab a couple. But I cannot justify "saving all that money" and getting things that I can live without.
The only way that purchasing sale items actually saves you money is if you have a budget for something. When you have a budget for something and you spend less than you thought you needed to, you actually have money left. That's saving. When you spend without a budget, I don't care how much of a discount it is, it's not saving! It's still spending more than you were going to in the first place.
Would I have gone out and purchased that sweater when it wasn't on sale yesterday? No way. Would I have gone out and purchased diapers when they weren't on sale? Yep. So there's the difference. If I wasn't planning to purchase the product without a sale, than unless I have the budget to use, I shouldn't purchase the product even on a great sale.
Be careful with all the "savings", make sure you aren't spending more than you budgeted for just because things are on sale. That's not savings at all, that's just a ploy to get more of your money, not less.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Fix the vehicle or buy a new one?
Here's a question that we've had to really think through a lot in the past few months:
When is better to just purchase a new vehicle instead of keep paying to fix an older one??
This question has risen up a number of times as we've paid at least a couple of thousand dollars in the last 2 years to keep our vehicle running. It's currently headed back into the shop this week, and we've got a rental vehicle so that Steve can continue to earn money while our van is costing us money.
I've been watching the posts that come through my RSS Feeds from Dave Ramsey, and he talks a lot about this topic. People are constantly asking him about their own personal situation, as if they are sure he will say, "Yes, now is a good time to go into debt by purchasing another vehicle," but it never happens.
Here's what Dave says over and over again:
Mathematically, repairs almost never drive the decision until you're down to a $1,000 car. You really can't mathematically make the decision to sell a car because the repairs are eating you up. It never works out.
So here's how that works out for us. We don't have a lot saved up for a new vehicle yet, because we are still working on getting our emergency fund back into place after it took a severe beating this last summer.
How much is our van worth? According to yesterday's hours of research online, I have to come to the conclusion that our van is worth at the very least, $3500. How much of a new van can we pay cash for right now? About $3500. What on earth would be the point of purchasing a new vehicle???
Some of you are staring at me like I'm crazy. I can just hear you thinking, "What's the point?? Are you really going to keep throwing money into that old thing and let it eat you alive?"
Sure, I'd love to drive a shiny new vehicle. Sure, I'd love to be able to take it into the dealer and say, "Fix this... it's on warrantee," and walk out of there with a fixed vehicle and no less money in my bank account. Sure, I'd love to show up in a snazzy ride that everyone oohs and ahhs over.
Let me ask you something: Would I rather throw my own money into something that I own to keep it running, or would I rather borrow a bunch of money and throw way more of my own money at something that won't break down... at least for a little while. And then when I still owe about half of it, it will start breaking down and causing trouble, and then I'll be throwing money at my vehicle AND at my loan! Yay.
That's not the way I want to live. Ever.
So we shall drive a beater and until it costs us more to fix it than it does to purchase a new one, we'll keep at it. Besides... eventually, we'll have replaced so many things that we'll sort of have a brand new vehicle! :)
We'll keep saving our money by NOT purchasing another newer vehicle that we can't pay cash for, and we'll keep repairing our current vehicle and staying out of debt.
When is better to just purchase a new vehicle instead of keep paying to fix an older one??
This question has risen up a number of times as we've paid at least a couple of thousand dollars in the last 2 years to keep our vehicle running. It's currently headed back into the shop this week, and we've got a rental vehicle so that Steve can continue to earn money while our van is costing us money.
I've been watching the posts that come through my RSS Feeds from Dave Ramsey, and he talks a lot about this topic. People are constantly asking him about their own personal situation, as if they are sure he will say, "Yes, now is a good time to go into debt by purchasing another vehicle," but it never happens.
Here's what Dave says over and over again:
When you are driving a $1,000 car and a $2,500 transmission goes out,
that car goes to the junkyard and you get $500 out of it. It's a
throwaway–that's what it's for.
If you are driving a $5,000 car,
you have to stop and think about whether to put a transmission in that
and whether that makes sense. Overall, mathematically, until you get
down to that level of car, if your car keeps breaking down, you can
mathematically fix a car forever until you get down to $1,000 value. You
can mathematically fix a car for cheaper than you can buy another one.
If
you have a $10,000 car that always breaks and upgrade to a $20,000 car,
that's $10,000 worth of repairs you could have done. How long can you
keep something running for $10,000? Forever! If you have a $5,000 car
that's breaking down all the time and you buy a $10,000 car, that's a
$5,000 difference. How long can you work on a $5,000 car with $5,000
cash? A long time!
Mathematically, repairs almost never drive the decision until you're down to a $1,000 car. You really can't mathematically make the decision to sell a car because the repairs are eating you up. It never works out.
So here's how that works out for us. We don't have a lot saved up for a new vehicle yet, because we are still working on getting our emergency fund back into place after it took a severe beating this last summer.
How much is our van worth? According to yesterday's hours of research online, I have to come to the conclusion that our van is worth at the very least, $3500. How much of a new van can we pay cash for right now? About $3500. What on earth would be the point of purchasing a new vehicle???
Some of you are staring at me like I'm crazy. I can just hear you thinking, "What's the point?? Are you really going to keep throwing money into that old thing and let it eat you alive?"
Sure, I'd love to drive a shiny new vehicle. Sure, I'd love to be able to take it into the dealer and say, "Fix this... it's on warrantee," and walk out of there with a fixed vehicle and no less money in my bank account. Sure, I'd love to show up in a snazzy ride that everyone oohs and ahhs over.
Let me ask you something: Would I rather throw my own money into something that I own to keep it running, or would I rather borrow a bunch of money and throw way more of my own money at something that won't break down... at least for a little while. And then when I still owe about half of it, it will start breaking down and causing trouble, and then I'll be throwing money at my vehicle AND at my loan! Yay.
That's not the way I want to live. Ever.
So we shall drive a beater and until it costs us more to fix it than it does to purchase a new one, we'll keep at it. Besides... eventually, we'll have replaced so many things that we'll sort of have a brand new vehicle! :)
We'll keep saving our money by NOT purchasing another newer vehicle that we can't pay cash for, and we'll keep repairing our current vehicle and staying out of debt.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Interesting - Lesson Learned!
If you have been following along in the last couple of months, you'd know that we have been going through a tight financial time. In order to combat this, we really pulled in on the budget, and then laughed as we quickly transferred the money back OUT of our emergency fund for a few things. We've managed to save very little, but at least we haven't gone into debt!
See, we've got a little guy who is just starting Kindergarten. Call me crazy, but I totally didn't realize how expensive it would be to get him all set up in school. We faced school fees, purchased school clothes, winter coat and boots, and a bunch of other things! Our little guy is super sensitive to anything touching his skin, so we had to make sure he had super soft pants, seamless socks (rather expensive!) and a bunch of other stuff that would be suited to making him feel comfortable at school. I didn't want his teacher to have to fight with him every day to get his socks back on, while he screamed that his socks seams were cutting into his feet.
We also ended up having to get new tires, a wheel alignment, and a couple of other things. It was kinda crazy.
The one mistake we made was to not bother getting cash out of the bank, and assumed that without the cash in hand, we'd spend much less. WRONG!!
I can tell you that without the cash in hand, we spent quite a bit more on groceries than we had before we cut the budget!! Like, easily $200 more! Wow... was that ever a wake-up call for us! When we cut out our cash budget, we spent more on the things that we used the debit for. I was baffled at how we were spending so much and yet, we were trying so hard to save more! Starting this week, we are back onto a cash budget... that will save us more money than spending with a debit card.
The second mistake I made was to cut out some of our grocery budget. With one of the kids in school, healthy snacks are a must. Easy lunches are a must. Unfortunately, I cut back our grocery budget to a completely unreasonable amount and then "overspent" even when I was buying just the bare minimum of our food needs.
In November, I'm starting up a dayhome, and that will replace my lost salary from the bookkeeping position that I quit in August. (It is the only job where I can honestly stay home with the kids and focus on them, without having to meet deadlines, work late hours, and neglect the kids when I'm busy with work.) I'm very excited to start this up, and have already been planning out a new budget. We'll go back to the same grocery budget that we had, but we'll try to keep out other expenses as low as possible. We should be able to save like crazy and see our emergency fund back up to the full 6 months of expenses within the next 6 months. We'll see. I know that there will be expenses that come as a result of the dayhome - insurance, a little more food, other random things, but I'm confident that we can manage those things well.
Well, here's to a new start... again! :D I am a very optimistic person and I don't mind starting fresh as many times as it takes to get back on the right track. As long as I start fresh from a slightly higher position than I started from last time, I'm happy!
See, we've got a little guy who is just starting Kindergarten. Call me crazy, but I totally didn't realize how expensive it would be to get him all set up in school. We faced school fees, purchased school clothes, winter coat and boots, and a bunch of other things! Our little guy is super sensitive to anything touching his skin, so we had to make sure he had super soft pants, seamless socks (rather expensive!) and a bunch of other stuff that would be suited to making him feel comfortable at school. I didn't want his teacher to have to fight with him every day to get his socks back on, while he screamed that his socks seams were cutting into his feet.
We also ended up having to get new tires, a wheel alignment, and a couple of other things. It was kinda crazy.
The one mistake we made was to not bother getting cash out of the bank, and assumed that without the cash in hand, we'd spend much less. WRONG!!
I can tell you that without the cash in hand, we spent quite a bit more on groceries than we had before we cut the budget!! Like, easily $200 more! Wow... was that ever a wake-up call for us! When we cut out our cash budget, we spent more on the things that we used the debit for. I was baffled at how we were spending so much and yet, we were trying so hard to save more! Starting this week, we are back onto a cash budget... that will save us more money than spending with a debit card.
The second mistake I made was to cut out some of our grocery budget. With one of the kids in school, healthy snacks are a must. Easy lunches are a must. Unfortunately, I cut back our grocery budget to a completely unreasonable amount and then "overspent" even when I was buying just the bare minimum of our food needs.
In November, I'm starting up a dayhome, and that will replace my lost salary from the bookkeeping position that I quit in August. (It is the only job where I can honestly stay home with the kids and focus on them, without having to meet deadlines, work late hours, and neglect the kids when I'm busy with work.) I'm very excited to start this up, and have already been planning out a new budget. We'll go back to the same grocery budget that we had, but we'll try to keep out other expenses as low as possible. We should be able to save like crazy and see our emergency fund back up to the full 6 months of expenses within the next 6 months. We'll see. I know that there will be expenses that come as a result of the dayhome - insurance, a little more food, other random things, but I'm confident that we can manage those things well.
Well, here's to a new start... again! :D I am a very optimistic person and I don't mind starting fresh as many times as it takes to get back on the right track. As long as I start fresh from a slightly higher position than I started from last time, I'm happy!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Necessary wants, how to fit them into the budget!
So last week I wrote about how we were pulling in on every front and guarding our finances from anything that might try and whisk them away. This week is a little different, and in some sense, is a contrast to all that talk about saving every last penny.
Once we got back on track last week with an extremely limited budget, we were able to regain the focus on saving that we've lost in the last few months. Things have come up that we do need money for, and not "needs". These are things like birthday celebrations and other stuff that you just really wanna do!
With no room in the budget for any sort of entertainment, you have to figure out how to handle it when things come up. Sometimes you have things that are not truly needs, but are necessary wants! For example, if friends get married, you need a gift! If someone comes into town that you haven't seen in awhile, you'll need to make the time to see them, and if that happens to be a family gathering at a restaurant or something, you'll need to go. You get the picture. Life happens, and life usually costs.
So how do you fit "life" into a strict budget?
Here's how we do it. We save $50 every two weeks into what we call our slush fund. This is not something that we just spend when we want to, it's kept in a secondary savings account and used as an pre-emergency fund. Every time we can gather a couple hundred bucks into that account, it gets transferred into the emergency fund so it doesn't get used on things that we don't really need.
It takes 5 business days to transfer the money from our savings account into our checking account where it can be put into whatever we need it for. Knowing that there is a 5 day wait for what we want usually helps us to decide whether it's really worth it or not. Generally, necessary wants are planned for at least a week before they arrive, giving us time to figure out where to get the money from.
God and others have blessed us so much though that sometimes when we think we'll need to pull from the pre-emergency account, we don't have to!
Here are some ways that I've found money to do the things I want to, even when the budget is super tight.
Once we got back on track last week with an extremely limited budget, we were able to regain the focus on saving that we've lost in the last few months. Things have come up that we do need money for, and not "needs". These are things like birthday celebrations and other stuff that you just really wanna do!
With no room in the budget for any sort of entertainment, you have to figure out how to handle it when things come up. Sometimes you have things that are not truly needs, but are necessary wants! For example, if friends get married, you need a gift! If someone comes into town that you haven't seen in awhile, you'll need to make the time to see them, and if that happens to be a family gathering at a restaurant or something, you'll need to go. You get the picture. Life happens, and life usually costs.
So how do you fit "life" into a strict budget?
Here's how we do it. We save $50 every two weeks into what we call our slush fund. This is not something that we just spend when we want to, it's kept in a secondary savings account and used as an pre-emergency fund. Every time we can gather a couple hundred bucks into that account, it gets transferred into the emergency fund so it doesn't get used on things that we don't really need.
It takes 5 business days to transfer the money from our savings account into our checking account where it can be put into whatever we need it for. Knowing that there is a 5 day wait for what we want usually helps us to decide whether it's really worth it or not. Generally, necessary wants are planned for at least a week before they arrive, giving us time to figure out where to get the money from.
God and others have blessed us so much though that sometimes when we think we'll need to pull from the pre-emergency account, we don't have to!
Here are some ways that I've found money to do the things I want to, even when the budget is super tight.
- Sell stuff! Do you have an old bookshelf or table kicking around your shed? Sell it! Make sure you research the going price of such items before you list. If you need a quick sale, list it slightly less expensive than all the other options.
- Cash in those points cards! Do you have a points card like Petro Points, AirMiles, or any other type of points card that is just sitting there gathering points? You can usually cash those in for gift cards or even items that you can use for gifts.
- Pray! Sounds so crazy, doesn't it? God knows what you need, and believe it or not, He even knows what you want and what you are hoping for. I really wanted a treadmill to use through the winter, but I couldn't afford one. I would pray for one on and off through the last year, and a couple of months ago, I found one for free! God is bigger than we know, and far more concerned about our desires than we sometimes believe He is.
- Pull in a few dollars from your other budgets. If you can get by with a little less gas money in a month, you can use that unused budget to cover for some other stuff. If you can avoid spending quite as much money on food or electricity, you'll have a few more dollars that you can claim for the fun stuff.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Back to the Basics!
Sometimes life hits hard and though you'd LIKE to continue living at the same level of comfort, you just can't. Well, no, you can, but it will take you into debt! We have just been through a financial storm, and though we were able to weather the storm nicely, we now have to get back onto our feet so we can prepare for the next one. Stuff happens, financial storms come and go. In the time between, it's up to you to get back up, brush the dirt off your back, and figure out how to strengthen yourself better for the next one.
Living with financial peace is one of those things that takes a lot of sacrifice. Creating a budget is great, but only if you are willing to adjust it and pull it way back if the need arises.
My husband and I sat down together last week and decided that if we were going to get back to the place where we could weather another terrible storm, there would have to be some serious cuts. Adding to the equation was lost income due to the fact that I've recently resigned from my job. With the lost income and the financial struggles in the last month, some serious re-ordering was necessary.
I couldn't bear to to back to square one and create a semi-permanent budget of very low spending. I just couldn't do it. So we decided to budget for the next 4 months only, and then re-evaluate in January. It seemed much easier to just focus on the next 4 months rather than feeling like we are back in a never-ending prison of sacrifice. Yes... I am a dramatic person, and that drama certainly pops up when I think about sacrificing to save money.
How do you cut back a budget? The only way to cut back a budget is to sacrifice the things you don't actually need. Here's the funny thing. In the last year, we put about $500 a month into savings and lived comfortably on the rest of our income. As we now work with newly lost income, we have cut the budget and INCREASED our savings to be closer to $1000 a month. How can we do that? Simple. Sacrifice.
We've totally nixed our eating out and recreation budgets. We no longer have anything towards entertainment, nothing towards our special savings for random events. We've cut our grocery budget by about 1/3, and we'll be back to the ground beef, eggs, rice, and bread diet! I didn't take anything out of the fruits and veggies budget because those are necessary for a healthy lifestyle.
Some of you may be thinking, "Well you can't possibly live like that... with absolutely no spending money, no entertainment money, and no recreation money!"
Wanna bet? This is where my dramatic side switches over to my competitive side. We've done it before, what's to stop us from doing it again?? You think we can't? You just watch and see and we'll prove you wrong!
Even Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a money coach and financial guru, claims that no one can get by without at least $50 a month set out for entertainment. She's very wise in a lot of things, and I lover her advice 90% of the time. However, in this one thing, I think she's wrong. I know she's wrong.
I can get by without cable TV! I can get by without eating out! I can get by without spending money on entertainment! I can get by without spending a single cent on clothing for myself, and only a couple bucks of clothing for my kids in the next few months! I can get by on a small grocery budget of just the basics! I can get by without costly recreation! I can and I will!
I did it for more than a year as we started to build a financial foundation, and I can do it again! I can do it again because I know that under all this sacrifice is peace. Under all the frustration of trying to feed a family of 5 on a budget for 2, there comes a satisfaction as we watch our savings account rise back to the place where we know that we can last another 6 months on our emergency fund if the need arises.
Financial peace isn't very peaceful at first. But, you know what Dave Ramsey says. "Live like no one else so later, you can live like no one else!" Right now, we are back to the first half of that statement, and though we are not really loving it, we are fiercely loyal to our plan so that we can reach the second half of the statement.
Living with financial peace is one of those things that takes a lot of sacrifice. Creating a budget is great, but only if you are willing to adjust it and pull it way back if the need arises.
My husband and I sat down together last week and decided that if we were going to get back to the place where we could weather another terrible storm, there would have to be some serious cuts. Adding to the equation was lost income due to the fact that I've recently resigned from my job. With the lost income and the financial struggles in the last month, some serious re-ordering was necessary.
I couldn't bear to to back to square one and create a semi-permanent budget of very low spending. I just couldn't do it. So we decided to budget for the next 4 months only, and then re-evaluate in January. It seemed much easier to just focus on the next 4 months rather than feeling like we are back in a never-ending prison of sacrifice. Yes... I am a dramatic person, and that drama certainly pops up when I think about sacrificing to save money.
How do you cut back a budget? The only way to cut back a budget is to sacrifice the things you don't actually need. Here's the funny thing. In the last year, we put about $500 a month into savings and lived comfortably on the rest of our income. As we now work with newly lost income, we have cut the budget and INCREASED our savings to be closer to $1000 a month. How can we do that? Simple. Sacrifice.
We've totally nixed our eating out and recreation budgets. We no longer have anything towards entertainment, nothing towards our special savings for random events. We've cut our grocery budget by about 1/3, and we'll be back to the ground beef, eggs, rice, and bread diet! I didn't take anything out of the fruits and veggies budget because those are necessary for a healthy lifestyle.
Some of you may be thinking, "Well you can't possibly live like that... with absolutely no spending money, no entertainment money, and no recreation money!"
Wanna bet? This is where my dramatic side switches over to my competitive side. We've done it before, what's to stop us from doing it again?? You think we can't? You just watch and see and we'll prove you wrong!
Even Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a money coach and financial guru, claims that no one can get by without at least $50 a month set out for entertainment. She's very wise in a lot of things, and I lover her advice 90% of the time. However, in this one thing, I think she's wrong. I know she's wrong.
I can get by without cable TV! I can get by without eating out! I can get by without spending money on entertainment! I can get by without spending a single cent on clothing for myself, and only a couple bucks of clothing for my kids in the next few months! I can get by on a small grocery budget of just the basics! I can get by without costly recreation! I can and I will!
I did it for more than a year as we started to build a financial foundation, and I can do it again! I can do it again because I know that under all this sacrifice is peace. Under all the frustration of trying to feed a family of 5 on a budget for 2, there comes a satisfaction as we watch our savings account rise back to the place where we know that we can last another 6 months on our emergency fund if the need arises.
Financial peace isn't very peaceful at first. But, you know what Dave Ramsey says. "Live like no one else so later, you can live like no one else!" Right now, we are back to the first half of that statement, and though we are not really loving it, we are fiercely loyal to our plan so that we can reach the second half of the statement.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Lots of emergencies!
In the last couple of months, we have come through some crazy financial emergencies. We've managed to take out 50% of our emergency fund on things that we totally didn't plan for and weren't too thrilled about!
Part of me wants to think of it in a very depressing and frustrated way. All that hard earned money just went down the drain! We worked so hard to save almost $20,000 as a good solid financial foundation for ourselves, and we just lost half of it due to stuff that came up. Black mold in carpets couldn't just stay there, we had to replace the carpet. A cracked bathroom sink and rotten out vanity cabinet can't be ignored, we had to replace it. Our van (our only vehicle and our means of earning money!) had some troubles and we had no choice but to fix it.
We also ended up starting our own business in February and didn't foresee some huge costs for various insurance items that are mandatory for a business like ours. Ugh. We had a slow work month in June and ended up not being able to take a paycheck in July. It's been rough!
Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, I can tell you that I have been extremely thankful. I'm thankful that we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course. I'm thankful that we worked so hard to save all that money. I'm thankful that when we walked through the last couple of months, we had the emergency fund to rely on! Most of all, I'm thankful that we sit here today with a small emergency fund instead of a huge credit card debt.
There are more things that are coming and need to be dealt with one at a time before winter, but hopefully we can handle them without touching any more of our emergency fund. We'll need new tires, new windows (the leaky windows caused the mold in the carpets), new front door and door frame (the snow blows in under the door), and we really need a new screen door for our patio door. Our current screen door is getting more and more taped up every day to cover the new holes.
Here's the thing though. Did we and do we still have financial peace? I can tell you honestly that we've had some doubts, but yes, we are still at peace. It's funny... a few years ago, we felt that we were doing reasonably well as we lived from paycheck to paycheck, constantly battling a few hundred dollars of credit card debt. At least we could find a lot of people that were in deeper debt or seemed less well off than we were.
Now though, we've changed our mindset about money. We sit here feeling empty and broke because we've had to knock $10,000 out of our emergency fund and only have about a 3 month buffer in there now. We feel like we have virtually nothing and are doing everything we can to save our pennies to get us back on track! I can tell you, if we had $9,000 a few years ago, we would have been dancing our way to the store to quickly find something to splurge on! What a change!
When I look at our entire financial picture, even the last few months have been peaceful. Crazy, and frustrating, and expensive yes, but there is an element of stress that has been replaced by the peace that we were ready for all of this. We didn't buy the bigger house (even though that would have eliminated the carpet costs and other house costs,) and have a bigger mortgage and new problems to deal with. I'm thrilled with our new carpet, it makes our house look bigger and more beautiful. I'm happy with the way things are, because I know that we were prepared. I also know that even if we lost everything, we could rebuild it faster than ever because we've done it once already before. We learned so much in the process that if we had to do it again, which we sort of do, we know how.
Part of me wants to think of it in a very depressing and frustrated way. All that hard earned money just went down the drain! We worked so hard to save almost $20,000 as a good solid financial foundation for ourselves, and we just lost half of it due to stuff that came up. Black mold in carpets couldn't just stay there, we had to replace the carpet. A cracked bathroom sink and rotten out vanity cabinet can't be ignored, we had to replace it. Our van (our only vehicle and our means of earning money!) had some troubles and we had no choice but to fix it.
We also ended up starting our own business in February and didn't foresee some huge costs for various insurance items that are mandatory for a business like ours. Ugh. We had a slow work month in June and ended up not being able to take a paycheck in July. It's been rough!
Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, I can tell you that I have been extremely thankful. I'm thankful that we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course. I'm thankful that we worked so hard to save all that money. I'm thankful that when we walked through the last couple of months, we had the emergency fund to rely on! Most of all, I'm thankful that we sit here today with a small emergency fund instead of a huge credit card debt.
There are more things that are coming and need to be dealt with one at a time before winter, but hopefully we can handle them without touching any more of our emergency fund. We'll need new tires, new windows (the leaky windows caused the mold in the carpets), new front door and door frame (the snow blows in under the door), and we really need a new screen door for our patio door. Our current screen door is getting more and more taped up every day to cover the new holes.
Here's the thing though. Did we and do we still have financial peace? I can tell you honestly that we've had some doubts, but yes, we are still at peace. It's funny... a few years ago, we felt that we were doing reasonably well as we lived from paycheck to paycheck, constantly battling a few hundred dollars of credit card debt. At least we could find a lot of people that were in deeper debt or seemed less well off than we were.
Now though, we've changed our mindset about money. We sit here feeling empty and broke because we've had to knock $10,000 out of our emergency fund and only have about a 3 month buffer in there now. We feel like we have virtually nothing and are doing everything we can to save our pennies to get us back on track! I can tell you, if we had $9,000 a few years ago, we would have been dancing our way to the store to quickly find something to splurge on! What a change!
When I look at our entire financial picture, even the last few months have been peaceful. Crazy, and frustrating, and expensive yes, but there is an element of stress that has been replaced by the peace that we were ready for all of this. We didn't buy the bigger house (even though that would have eliminated the carpet costs and other house costs,) and have a bigger mortgage and new problems to deal with. I'm thrilled with our new carpet, it makes our house look bigger and more beautiful. I'm happy with the way things are, because I know that we were prepared. I also know that even if we lost everything, we could rebuild it faster than ever because we've done it once already before. We learned so much in the process that if we had to do it again, which we sort of do, we know how.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Telus - Not so bad after all...
So our experience with Telus has been pretty good, considering the amount of trouble we had with setting up the installation meeting.
Our first bill included full price cable TV, and the disclaimer about being locked into a 3 year contract. As you can well imagine, Telus got an immediate phone call from me. I demanded a refund, but unfortunately, Telus only subtracts the money off your next bill, so no refund. They did make sure that I was NOT on any sort of a contract, and they switched the TV costs to the promised rate of $10 a month.
Since then, we've cancelled the TV subscription as we really don't use it. For even $10 a month, plus the $5 monthly rental fee for the cable box, it's still not worth it. We only watch TV for a couple of hours every month, and really, that ends up being quite costly for those two or three hours! Netflix is still working well for us, so the TV subscription will go.
Going forward, we will be paying $20 a month for full internet and telephone services over the next 10 months. That's an excellent deal! We have had no issues with the internet or telephone services at this point in time.
Our first bill included full price cable TV, and the disclaimer about being locked into a 3 year contract. As you can well imagine, Telus got an immediate phone call from me. I demanded a refund, but unfortunately, Telus only subtracts the money off your next bill, so no refund. They did make sure that I was NOT on any sort of a contract, and they switched the TV costs to the promised rate of $10 a month.
Since then, we've cancelled the TV subscription as we really don't use it. For even $10 a month, plus the $5 monthly rental fee for the cable box, it's still not worth it. We only watch TV for a couple of hours every month, and really, that ends up being quite costly for those two or three hours! Netflix is still working well for us, so the TV subscription will go.
Going forward, we will be paying $20 a month for full internet and telephone services over the next 10 months. That's an excellent deal! We have had no issues with the internet or telephone services at this point in time.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Cheaper Phone & Internet... but at what cost???
So I had a Telus guy come to the door a week ago, and offer me full internet, TV, and Phone for $10 each, plus a $5 cable box rental. This would be offered for each month up to 12 months. After double and triple checking that there were NO contracts that would hold me from going back to Shaw, I agreed!
Well, I've been warned a million times that Telus has horrible customer service, but I want to save money! I agreed, and set up the installation date.
I got a phone call from Telus asking me for details around our installation date, and it was at that time that I realized that everyone is right about Telus. Don't believe me? Here's how the conversation went:
Telus: We will be disconnecting your Shaw phone a few hours before we come and install your Telus phone. Can I have an alternate phone number that I can reach you at on that day please?
Me: I don't have an alternate number. Why would you need one?
Telus: We need to call you and make sure you are home prior to sending our installation technician to your house.
Me: You are going to cut off my Shaw phone, then you want to call me to see if I'm home?? Can you please call me first, then cut off the Shaw line?
Telus: No, we have to do it this way. It's our policy.
Me: What happens if you cut off my line, then can't guarantee that I'm home? Then your technician doesn't come, and then how do I get ahold of you to re-book??
Telus: I just need an alternate number.
Me. I don't have one.
Telus: If we can't guarantee you are home, we won't send the technician.
Me: So then guarantee that I'm home BEFORE you cut off the phone line.
Telus: I can't. It's policy. Do you have a family member who can verify that you are home?
Me: You can call my mom...
Telus: Perfect, we'll call her.
Me: So let me get this straight. You are going to cut off my phone line before you call. Then you will call my mom, who lives across town, to ask if I'm home. She'll say yes, because that's what I now have to tell her to say, whether I'm actually at the house or not, and then you'll send your tech.
Telus: Correct.
Me: And what if he doesn't show up, or if he can't find the place? Then I'm left as a stay at home mom with three little ones with no contact to the outside world? Then how do I get ahold of you to figure out what happened?
Telus: You'll have to use your alternate number.
Me: Have you seriously never had anyone with no alternate number before??
Telus: Oh we do all the time, it's just policy, so they need to find one.
I was left baffled at the stupidity of this so-called policy!!! Are you serious? You disconnect my phone, then you want to phone me and see if I'm home?? Seriously???? Did no one with a working brain go to that policy-creating meeting?? No one said, "hmmmm... we should probably call them and confirm the appointment BEFORE we cut off their phone service."
Anyways. Yes, I see what everyone means, it's ridiculous. But still... it's cheap, so I'm staying so far.
It doesn't stop there though. Nope, it got worse. I received a letter in the mail from Telus stating that I had entered into a 3 year contract and it outlined the fees of cancelling that contract. I opened the letter, picked up the phone again, and called Telus.
After demanding that the contract be voided or I wouldn't switch from Shaw, I was told that I had already signed and wouldn't be able to go back without paying fees. I got transferred up through a couple levels of managers, and finally, a person with a fully functional brain!!! I stated that I had confirmed and re-confirmed several times with the sales person that this was NOT to be on a contract, and he had even called his supervisor to confirm for me. I would never had agreed to any sort of a contract.
The Telus representative said to me, "Well, I will make sure your account does not have a contract on it, as that's what you were told."
Wow... so at this point in time, we are still heading towards our Telus service, but with each passing day I wonder if the saved money is worth the frustration of all their policies and customer unservice.
If this keeps up, I'll be switching back to Shaw.
Well, I've been warned a million times that Telus has horrible customer service, but I want to save money! I agreed, and set up the installation date.
I got a phone call from Telus asking me for details around our installation date, and it was at that time that I realized that everyone is right about Telus. Don't believe me? Here's how the conversation went:
Telus: We will be disconnecting your Shaw phone a few hours before we come and install your Telus phone. Can I have an alternate phone number that I can reach you at on that day please?
Me: I don't have an alternate number. Why would you need one?
Telus: We need to call you and make sure you are home prior to sending our installation technician to your house.
Me: You are going to cut off my Shaw phone, then you want to call me to see if I'm home?? Can you please call me first, then cut off the Shaw line?
Telus: No, we have to do it this way. It's our policy.
Me: What happens if you cut off my line, then can't guarantee that I'm home? Then your technician doesn't come, and then how do I get ahold of you to re-book??
Telus: I just need an alternate number.
Me. I don't have one.
Telus: If we can't guarantee you are home, we won't send the technician.
Me: So then guarantee that I'm home BEFORE you cut off the phone line.
Telus: I can't. It's policy. Do you have a family member who can verify that you are home?
Me: You can call my mom...
Telus: Perfect, we'll call her.
Me: So let me get this straight. You are going to cut off my phone line before you call. Then you will call my mom, who lives across town, to ask if I'm home. She'll say yes, because that's what I now have to tell her to say, whether I'm actually at the house or not, and then you'll send your tech.
Telus: Correct.
Me: And what if he doesn't show up, or if he can't find the place? Then I'm left as a stay at home mom with three little ones with no contact to the outside world? Then how do I get ahold of you to figure out what happened?
Telus: You'll have to use your alternate number.
Me: Have you seriously never had anyone with no alternate number before??
Telus: Oh we do all the time, it's just policy, so they need to find one.
I was left baffled at the stupidity of this so-called policy!!! Are you serious? You disconnect my phone, then you want to phone me and see if I'm home?? Seriously???? Did no one with a working brain go to that policy-creating meeting?? No one said, "hmmmm... we should probably call them and confirm the appointment BEFORE we cut off their phone service."
Anyways. Yes, I see what everyone means, it's ridiculous. But still... it's cheap, so I'm staying so far.
It doesn't stop there though. Nope, it got worse. I received a letter in the mail from Telus stating that I had entered into a 3 year contract and it outlined the fees of cancelling that contract. I opened the letter, picked up the phone again, and called Telus.
After demanding that the contract be voided or I wouldn't switch from Shaw, I was told that I had already signed and wouldn't be able to go back without paying fees. I got transferred up through a couple levels of managers, and finally, a person with a fully functional brain!!! I stated that I had confirmed and re-confirmed several times with the sales person that this was NOT to be on a contract, and he had even called his supervisor to confirm for me. I would never had agreed to any sort of a contract.
The Telus representative said to me, "Well, I will make sure your account does not have a contract on it, as that's what you were told."
Wow... so at this point in time, we are still heading towards our Telus service, but with each passing day I wonder if the saved money is worth the frustration of all their policies and customer unservice.
If this keeps up, I'll be switching back to Shaw.
The proof is in the pudding... or at least in the bill.
So awhile ago I mentioned that I may switch from Epcor to Enmax for our electricity. I did that in December and eagerly awaited seeing our electricity bill! Our normal bills through Epcor have been between $120 and $150 for the last year, and it went up to $170 in October. When I saw the bill for $170, I nearly choked and decided to take the plunge!
Enmax offers a NO CONTRACT plan, and at the time, I was able to lock in at a great rate! I can switch from locked in prices to floating rates at any given time, and back to Epcor if I want to. There are no fees to switch around. I figured it was worth a try!
My December bill was kind of screwed up because there were charges from Epcor and Enmax, and it was all too confusing to tell if I had actually saved any money.
I just got my bill for January... $80 for electricity!!! YAY!! We haven't had a bill that low for a couple of years!
For the record, we also switched our natural gas to Enmax, but didn't take their locked in rate. We are paying the same with Enmax as we would have with Direct Energy. I watch the rates closely though, and will lock in at any time if it will save us money.
Nope, I'm not being paid by Enmax to write this... (wouldn't that be lovely!!) I just wanted to share our newest savings.
Enmax offers a NO CONTRACT plan, and at the time, I was able to lock in at a great rate! I can switch from locked in prices to floating rates at any given time, and back to Epcor if I want to. There are no fees to switch around. I figured it was worth a try!
My December bill was kind of screwed up because there were charges from Epcor and Enmax, and it was all too confusing to tell if I had actually saved any money.
I just got my bill for January... $80 for electricity!!! YAY!! We haven't had a bill that low for a couple of years!
For the record, we also switched our natural gas to Enmax, but didn't take their locked in rate. We are paying the same with Enmax as we would have with Direct Energy. I watch the rates closely though, and will lock in at any time if it will save us money.
Nope, I'm not being paid by Enmax to write this... (wouldn't that be lovely!!) I just wanted to share our newest savings.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Bread prices
For a long time, I've gone to the Bread Basket for their 10 loaves for $10 special on day-old bread. That's a real deal, seeing as you could often find good healthy bread and other specialty breads such as bagels and wraps, all for $1 each, as long as you bought 10 of them. Unfortunately, they have raised their price to $12 for 10 loaves, so it does cost a wee bit more now. It's still a fantastic deal though, if you can find the good bread.
In the past three weeks, I've been heading to Superstore for my bread! Superstore sells 4 loaves of unsliced white or whole wheat bread for $3.89. That's a pretty good deal for bread! So I have to slice it... I can slice it if it means that I can save money! Granted... when my husband slices the bread, we use a lot more because those slices are pretty big... but still! :)
When I was in Superstore the other day, I found the bag of 4 loaves on the 50% off shelf! That's now 4 loaves for less than $2! I always check their 50% off shelf, you never know what you might find!
In the past three weeks, I've been heading to Superstore for my bread! Superstore sells 4 loaves of unsliced white or whole wheat bread for $3.89. That's a pretty good deal for bread! So I have to slice it... I can slice it if it means that I can save money! Granted... when my husband slices the bread, we use a lot more because those slices are pretty big... but still! :)
When I was in Superstore the other day, I found the bag of 4 loaves on the 50% off shelf! That's now 4 loaves for less than $2! I always check their 50% off shelf, you never know what you might find!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Stepping out of the nest!
Well the time has come for us to take the next financial step in our lives. No, unfortunately it's not buying a new house or getting our new kitchen as mentioned before.
I'll give you some background to the whole thing. Firstly my husband, Steve, is a drywall taper- an excellent one at that. He's been working full time for a commercial construction company for the last 2.5 years, but in the last two months, he's been taking side jobs. The extra money has been nice, but the rest has not been easy. His long hours meant that the kids wouldn't get to see their Daddy very much. Keep in mind as well, that we only have one vehicle, and that's the vehicle my husband uses to get to work. This means that the kids and I are stuck when he's gone. Any activities such as grocery shopping must be done when he's home. That has been pretty difficult lately!
Anyways, we've decided that since it's possible for us to double our earnings by finding our own work, we are going to take the leap. We still have a good relationship with Steve's employer, so when we gave him our 2 weeks notice, he told us to let him know if we ever wanted to come back. That's such a generous offer of him, and we certainly appreciated it!
February 10 will be Steve's last day at work for his current employer, and after that, we'll be out on our own. We kind of feel like a little bird who steps out of the nest and jumps off the branch, hoping that he will learn to fly before he hits the ground!
Now is when we are sure grateful for our 6 month emergency fund that we built up over the last couple of years. That will sure help us out if we don't get as much work as we need.
I'm sure excited though, once we are established and have a lot of good work, we will be able to go much farther financially that we were before. I'm so glad that Steve is willing to take the jump, and I'll be right there beside him all the way.
As for the new house and new kitchen, those things will come in time. It's a little disappointing to give those up, but I know it's less giving them up and more of postponing them for a later time. I'm willing to be patient and make sure that we are setting ourselves up for a better future. After all, isn't that what the Financial Peace University was all about? Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else!
I'll give you some background to the whole thing. Firstly my husband, Steve, is a drywall taper- an excellent one at that. He's been working full time for a commercial construction company for the last 2.5 years, but in the last two months, he's been taking side jobs. The extra money has been nice, but the rest has not been easy. His long hours meant that the kids wouldn't get to see their Daddy very much. Keep in mind as well, that we only have one vehicle, and that's the vehicle my husband uses to get to work. This means that the kids and I are stuck when he's gone. Any activities such as grocery shopping must be done when he's home. That has been pretty difficult lately!
Anyways, we've decided that since it's possible for us to double our earnings by finding our own work, we are going to take the leap. We still have a good relationship with Steve's employer, so when we gave him our 2 weeks notice, he told us to let him know if we ever wanted to come back. That's such a generous offer of him, and we certainly appreciated it!
February 10 will be Steve's last day at work for his current employer, and after that, we'll be out on our own. We kind of feel like a little bird who steps out of the nest and jumps off the branch, hoping that he will learn to fly before he hits the ground!
Now is when we are sure grateful for our 6 month emergency fund that we built up over the last couple of years. That will sure help us out if we don't get as much work as we need.
I'm sure excited though, once we are established and have a lot of good work, we will be able to go much farther financially that we were before. I'm so glad that Steve is willing to take the jump, and I'll be right there beside him all the way.
As for the new house and new kitchen, those things will come in time. It's a little disappointing to give those up, but I know it's less giving them up and more of postponing them for a later time. I'm willing to be patient and make sure that we are setting ourselves up for a better future. After all, isn't that what the Financial Peace University was all about? Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else!
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