Fuel Observation - Day Seven

Yesterday...

To work and back home - 8 miles
To the car wash (which was out of order) - 2.4 miles
To Brent's parent's house - 3.2 miles
To the Library - 1.2 miles
And home again - 3 miles

Today...
To the gas station - .8 miles

Total for the week - 80.4 miles

Well, that's a little less than our average has been. Probably because we didn't go out on Sunday. What did I learn this week?

1. Get a bike. Somehow do this. Even if it's just a $10 bike from Salvation Army, I really need to get one.

2. Figure out how to not run to the grocery store in the middle of the week. We did twice this week. That's really a waste of time and money. Maybe I'll make a deal with myself that if we do this, I have to take my (future) bike.

3. Never drive to the video rental place. That's just stupid - it's less than 2 miles away, and a quick walk. Now that it is not sub-zero outside, there's no excuse not to walk.

4. We should try to find someone to carpool with on Sundays to lunch. The only issue with this is that our nearby friends all have little kids, if we took a turn they would have to move their carseats to our car - a big pain. We'll have to talk to them about this. Also, maybe Brent should not always offer to drive on Taco Thursdays (out with the guys).


I filled up the car completely this morning, so this week I'll see what kind of gas mileage we've been getting. Hopefully it's not as low as I think it is....

The Five Points of Simple Living

When making the decision to live a more simple life, you have to have some criteria for the choices you make. There are simple 'Joneses' too, and one can get caught up in the competition to become more simple or more crunchy than their neighbor. You have to look at your life and what works for you. Guilt is not a part of simple living. Over my journey of moving towards voluntary simplicity, I've came up some questions mirror my values and help me keep my priorities straight when I make choices

A. Does it save money?
B. Does it save time?
C. Is it better for the environment?
D. Is it better for my health?
E. Is it something I enjoy doing?

These questions may have different priority for different people. For us right now, the money question is at the top, because we have such a tight budget. But, I have a lot of extra time, so that question is almost irrelevant. But those even are not set in stone. When I'm working extra hours, the time question moves to top priority. If I feel particularly 'green' one day, the environmental question may move to the top.

Let's look at some 'simple' choices you could make and how they fit in the criteria:

Should I hang my laundry outside instead of putting it in the dryer?
A. It saves money
B. It does not save time
C. It is better for the environment
D. Is not better or worse for my health
E. I personally enjoy it.

Should I buy organic food?
A. It does not save money
B. It may take more time if I have to go to a different grocery store.
C. It is better for the environment
D. It is better for my health
E. I do not enjoy it any more or less.

Should I walk to work instead of driving?
A. It does save money
B. It would really take a lot more time
C. It is better for the environment
D. It is better for my health
E. I would really not enjoy this.

The questions and the answers may be different for your life and your situation, but the point is to think about the choices you make. Just as you can go overboard with consumerism, you can also go overboard with simple living too. The point of simple living is to improve the quality of your life and others around you (locally and worldwide); not to go so far to the extreme that you are miserable.

Fuel Observation Day Six

We didn't drive anywhere today! Yay us! We usually go out with friends on Sundays but this week we skipped it. Everyone else went to Perkins, so we would have driven 8.9 miles. We also walked to Family Video to return some more movies so that would have been another 1.5 miles.

Total for the week - still 61.8 miles

Total that we didn't drive for the week - 11.9 miles

Fuel Observation - Day Five

Came home from work - 4 miles
Brent went to Pick 'n Save and came back home - 1.4 miles

Total for the day - 5.4 miles
Total for the week - 61.8 miles

Happy Thoughts

It's almost midnight and I'm at work. Booo. I have to work an 8 hour third shift every other weekend, so here I am. Since that is kind of depressing, I will share some happy things that happened to me this week.

1. My birthday (did I mention that enough?)
2. My anniversary
3. I looked at my garden and saw that the garlic that I planted last fall is sprouting. That was really cool. I usually don't plant things from seed, so it was really fun seeing the tiny green shoots. I think they were garlic anyway - I hope they weren't weeds....
4. I made homemade bagels. Man, those were yummy! I think that will be a regular thing in our house now. They were far better than store bought.
5. The temperature reached over 40 degrees. Is spring starting?
6. I am learning to knit! So far I am still in practice mode. I did one 20x30 of garter stitch and I'm working on a 20x30 of stockinette stitch

That's all I can think of for now. Work sucks.

Fuel Observation - Day four

To work - 3.9 miles
Home from work - 4 miles
Brent had some errands...
Barbershop - 2 miles
Pick 'n Save - 1.8 miles
Visit a sick friend - 1.9 miles
To Walmart - 2.9 miles
And Burger King? - 2.1 miles
Home again - 2.5 miles
Me to work again (grrr - stupid third shift weekends) - 4 miles

Total for the day - 25.1 miles
And for the week - 56.4 miles

According to this website, the average car costs about $0.55 per mile to drive. Also according to that website, it costs me over $1000 to commute every year. It is so great that we live right next to Brent's workplace. It has allowed us to be a one-car family for most of our marriage.

It is cheaper for me to take the bus downtown than it is to drive. Of course the best would be to ride a bike, which I don't have. Booo. I really need to get one.

Our Frugal Wedding

In honor of our anniversary, I'll tell you what we did for a frugal wedding. We had around 250 guests and spent under 10K for the whole she-bang.

1. Bought my dress on eBay. Cost about $300 after alterations.

2. Brent bought me an estate diamond (used, basically) for my engagement ring - so, so much cheaper than a new one, and just as beautiful.

3. My bridesmaids bought their own dresses, but we bought them at a department store instead of a wedding shop. I think they paid around $100. I also let them pick out thier own shoes so they could find a sale and do what they wanted.

4. We made our own invitations. They weren't the cookie cutter printouts either - we designed them ourselves. I must say that they were pretty cool looking and cost less than a dollar each (don't know the exact price).

5. We used postcards instead of notes in envelopes for our return cards. This would save $16 in postage per 100 invitations.

6. We ordered our flowers from FreshRoses.com I can not say enough good stuff about this company. We got our flowers on Thursday, and they hadn't even opened fully yet. We made all of our own bouquets and corsages, and decorated with the rest. It was a fun social time to make these with my bridesmaids and friends.

7. We did not have programs for the ceremony. Seriously - people just throw them away anyway. We had a powerpoint type thing displayed before the wedding with the wedding party's names and such.

8. We did not do wedding favors for the guests either. We had candy on the tables that doubled as the decoration.

9. Instead of having a traditionally elaborate wedding cake, we bought a cartful of cheesecakes from Sam's Club. They were so good - everyone raved about it.

10. We did not have a dance or open bar - just the dinner. This was more of a religious thing, but it did save us a lot of money.

11. We did not hire a wedding planner and we did as much ourselves as we could. We were only engaged four months, so we had to work pretty quickly. Planning our wedding was a blast and I would not have done anything differently.

12. Last - we did not fly to a far away land for our honeymoon. We drove to Chicago and got a hotel downtown. We went out to eat some and saw some sights. But mostly we just stayed in the hotel room ;) so why go someplace exotic and expensive?

The thing I learned most from planning our wedding was to think creatively in every aspect. There are always alternate solutions to every problem. Also - do a lot of research online to what others have done. There are a lot of good ideas out there.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is Brent and my fourth wedding anniversary.

March 23, 2002 was the best day of my life. I never thought I could be so happy. But somehow, every day is better than the last.

I love you Brent!

Fuel Obeservation - Day three

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go - 4 miles
From work to coffee place (mmmm latte) - 3 miles
Coffee place to home - 3.2 miles


Total for the day - 10.2 miles
Total for the week - 31.3 miles

Fuel Observation - Day Two

Drove to work - 3.9 miles
Drove home - 4 miles
Brent went our for lunch with the guys - 4 miles


Total for the day - 11.9 miles
Total for the week - 21.1 miles

I did walk to return the video game today, and was very lucky that it was a gorgeous 40 degrees out.

Feul Observation - Day One

After work I went to the gas station and put $15 of gas in the car. Price was $2.62 per gallon, so I got 5.729 gallons.
Here's where we went today and how many miles for this week....

From Gas Station to Aldi - 1.0 miles
From Aldi to home - 2.3 miles
Brent went to a friend's house to fix their computer, and came back home - 4.4 miles
Brent went to Family Video and came back home - 1.5 miles


Total for the day - 9.2 miles


I know, I know, I said just a few hours ago that I would for sure walk to Family Video instead of driving, and I didn't. I have excuses though! First, it's below freezing out there. Brrr. Second, Alias ended on a HUGE cliffhanger (y'know where they find her picture on that page? Yeah, that one. Gotta know what happens next) and we really wanted to watch it before we went to bed. If we would have walked there would have been no time for that.

But I promise I will walk there to return them. Scout's honor.

Cutting back on gas

Our system is failing. For a while now, we've just been putting $15 of gas in the car every Tuesday, and it was enough to keep us going - and usually above the half-tank mark. But today we're in the red. We've been driving much more than usual, and combined with the increase in gas prices, our gas is slowly going down down down each week.

Where are we driving that ends up being 100 miles in a week? I have no idea. Driving to work for six days would be 48 miles, but we're driving double that each week. We go out to eat once on the weekends, but surely that cannot add 50 miles.

This week I present myself with a challenge - log on here every place we go and all the miles driven. And of course try to make that number as low as possible by walking and carpooling. I already know I'm going to be walking to return those movies to Family Video instead of driving.

My Birthday

My birthday in pictures

Click on each individual picture for the description.

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday dear Tracy!
Happy Birthday to me!

That's all I really have to say. I can't think of anything else interesting for now.
:)

Meatout 2006 - March 20th

"Meatout is an international observance helping individuals evolve to a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains. The purpose is to expose the public to the joys and benefits of a plant-based diet, while promoting the availability and selection of meat and dairy alternatives in mainstream grocery stores, restaurants, and catering operations."


Meatout this year just happens to fall on Monday, March 20th - My birthday! Yay! I've been a vegetarian for over two years now, so I will of course be participating in this year's veggie festivities. You may not be a vegetarian, but maybe just for one day you could choose salad instead of steak. Pretty please? For me? It would be the best birthday present in the world! :)

Meatout.org

Free coffee

Stop by any Starbucks today between 10AM and 12AM and get a free cup of coffee. Can't get much better than free. :)

Linkage

Cutting to the bone

Brent and I sat down and reviewed all of our bills last week, to see if there was anywhere we could make some more cuts. In the end, we downgraded our cell phone plan and are saving $25 per month as a result.

There are many, many other things we could be doing, but we're not. Maybe we're lazy, maybe we're spoiled - who knows. But it's nice to know if something were to happen, we could really cut back and save even more.

1. We could get dial-up. *shudder* - that was horrible even to type. As Brent says, "I would rather go without food, than high-speed internet." So, maybe we could just get DSL instead of cable internet. We're paying $55/mo for cable and frankly, I think it is a huge ripoff. We could switch to DSL for $40 per month, but we'd have to pay $50 up front to install a phone line (we're a cell phone only family). So it would take 4 months before we started saving money with this option.

2. We could get rid of one or both of our cell phones and get a land line. I'm not sure how much this would actually save since it has been so long since we had a land line. I'm guessing that a phone would cost about $30 per month, so that would save us $70 (yeah we pay a lot for our cell phones). The problem with that is Brent uses his phone for work all the time. He doesn't have a phone in his office, and he frequently works from home. So he would at least have to keep his cell phone. So if I got rid of mine and we had a landline and one cell phone, we probably would save $20 per month. Not worth it.

3. We could sell our car and get a cheaper one. Brent will probably have my head for even suggesting this, so it's pretty much out of the question. We already only have one car so we want something reliable and nice. And I think Brent is actually in love with it. But, if we had to, we would save probably $250 per month in car payments, and $300 per year in insurance. (Not to mention the gas savings, since the poor car need premium gas to run well)

4. We could get rid of our weekly allowance but then we'd have to pay for marriage counseling.

5. We could stop going out to eat on Sundays. We have discussed this, but not willing to go that route. Sunday dinner is pretty much our only social time, and the only time we ever go out to eat. $20 per week on our only entertainment is not that bad.

6. We could drop our renter's insurance, but that would be just plain stupid.

7. I could get a second job, or apply for full time hours at my job. That's not something I really want to do, plus I think Brent enjoys having me around to wait on him hand and foot. Right now we use my income to pay off debt and nothing else, so it's not even part of our budget and we wouldn't really be changing our situation much.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'm sure if we lived in a van down by the river, we could really pay off our debt, but that's not a thought I'm willing to entertain.

Love, Marriage, and Money - Part 4 - Prayer

This is the last part of my series, and I won't hesitate to say the most important aspect to our financial success is prayer.

We don't pray to win the lottery, or even that one of us will get a raise. We know that God has promised to provide for our every need. Even some of our wants.

What we do pray for is wisdom. I think that this is an oft overlooked, but very powerful prayer. We pray for wisdom to stretch our small budget and to help us to find the best way to use our money. We pray that God would help us find good deals and help us be good stewards of what He has blessed us with. And honestly I can think of more than a few times where we have gotten just what we needed or found a new resource just at the right time. Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

I changed the tag on my title to the Bible verse where God blesses Solomon with wisdom, and then gives him everything else in addition. In James 1:5 it says "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." This is a promise from God - that anyone who asks for God's guidance will receive it.
God is like our parent - He loves to give advice :) The difference is that God's advice is always the best way.

Love, Marriage, and Money - Part 3 - A Little Independence isn't bad

After all this insisting that everything should be open, together, and intertwined - I'll come out and say that Brent and I each have our own spending money. Not much - we split $25 per week - but that money has no rules and we are able to spend it on whatever each of us chooses.

Each of us have our own hobbies, and even though I think Brent's hobby is less than cool, he still should have the opportunity to have fun and pursue it. And it shouldn't be a financial hardship if I want to go for coffee with a friend sometimes. It also gives us the chance to buy little gifts for each other or spend it on something we want to do together that's not in the budget (like the movies or something).

When we were first married I thought this idea was silly, but now I think it's really important, if only because it keeps us both happy. Being ultra-frugal gets tiring over a long period of time, and this helps to relieve some of the strain.

Love, Marriage, and Money - Part 2 - Communication

Since Brent and I have joint accounts, communication is crucial for our financial success. I do the bills and money stuff, but Brent usually knows exactly where our money is going and how much we have. We both have to be totally open and honest with one another in every dollar we spend. This also points back to the financial accountablitiy that I mentioned yesterday.
My parents had a rule that if one wanted to spend $25 or more, they had to ask the other first. It was like that from day one, and it still works. Brent and I don’t have a specific rule like that, but we do keep each other updated on the spending forecast for the week -
"Hey Brent, I have to buy cat food this week, so be careful with the spending"
"Ok, but don't forget we are going out on Friday so make room for that too"

This is not the only aspect of communication in finances, though. On Monday, Brent and I sat down and talked about what bills we could cut down on. Could we cut our minutes on our cell phone? Could we try to get DSL instead of cable modem? Two heads were better than one in this situation, and we were able to come up with solutions that worked for both of us. We decided together how much we choose to give to the church. We decided together to drop cable. If only one of us were making all of these choices, I can guarantee that the other would be miserable.

Also, since both of us are fully aware of our financial status, we are able to encourage each other toward our common goal. The penny pinching can get rough, but when we sit down and talk about how much we have in savings, or how much we paid on our debt this month, it's worth it. We can also bring concerns and complaints to each other and are able to talk them over rationally instead of getting resentful and fighting all the time.

On top of all of this, if something were to happen to one of us, it's very important for the other to know what's going on financially so they would be able to make appropriate decisions for their future.

Love, Marriage and Money - Part 1 - Come Together

Love, Marriage, and Money - Part 1 - Come Together

When Brent and I were married, one of the first things we did was consolidate our bank accounts. This was kind of essential since we had to pay for the wedding somehow - he had the cash and I was spending it. But, for the rest of our marriage, this is the way we wanted it.

I believe that Brent and I are meant to be together 'till death do us part' - there are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. The word 'divorce' is not something spoken in our home - we're (happily) stuck with each other.

Therefore, our finances are all together. (and we did not have a pre-nup) There is no Brent's account and Tracy's account - there's just The Account. And I think having separate bank accounts is a grave mistake. Separate accounts set yourself up for failure in your marriage. Let me explain.

Couple 1 has separate accounts and Couple 2 have a joint account. I'm not making up cheesy names for my examples.

1. Separate accounts provide an easy out. If Husband 1 wanted to run out on Wife 1, it would be easy for him to just take his accounts and go. Yeah, the house would be something to fight over, but he has is own car, his own savings stashed away - very easy to just pick up and leave. However, if Couple 2 decided to divorce, it would be a logistical nightmare since everything is shared.

2. Separate accounts promote strife and autonomy. Couple 1 goes to the grocery together and each writes out a check for half of the purchase. Husband 1 wants to spend $75 on steaks, while Wife 1 doesn’t even eat meat. How is it fair for them to split the bill half way? If they each buy their own groceries, who does the butter and the flour and other pantry items belong to? In either situation each of them is able to act on their own and independently, while screwing the other spouse over. Marriage is supposed to be a team effort. How is couple 1 any different from college roommates (who occasionally share a bed)?

3. Separate accounts have no financial accountability. If Wife 2 was ringing up tons of debt, Husband 2 would know about it right away. If Wife 1 was doing the same thing, and they divorced, Husband 1 would have had no idea, but would be stuck with half the debt anyway (at least in Wisconsin). More about this in Part 2.

4. Separate accounts can keep one of the spouses in financial ruin. Say Husband 1 makes $100K per year, and Wife 1 only makes $20K. They buy a house and each pays half of the monthly mortgage payment -say $750 each. Husband 1 has no problem making that payment, but Wife 1 is struggling to get buy with her half of the bills. She is not able to save any money toward the future, and if they divorce, she will have nothing.

5. Joint accounts do not cause a controlling situation. Brent makes twice the money I do, and when we have children, I plan on staying home, and possibly will make no money. If Brent were to put his thumb over me and demand that I spend no money because I make no money - that is NOT a money issue. It is a control issue which is entirely different. Similarly, if one spouse spends both of their money like there is no tomorrow, and the other is unhappy about it - that is also not a money issue. A joint account will (hopefully) force the couple to make wise decisions together and work through their problems.

Brent's deal of the day

Yesterday Brent went with a buddy to Wal-Mart. His friend asked him if he was planning on buying anything, or just there to look around. Brent said, "No, I'm saving my money for [random stuff]… unless there is a ridiculous sale for today only where God of War is marked down from $50 to $20". Well, guess what they saw as they walked into the electronics section? Brent asked the cashier - "is that a ridiculous sale only for today?" and promptly bought it.

How does he do that?

NCN Network

I joined the NCN Network! If any one of you have already read the No Credit Needed Blog, you would have seen his pie chart that detailed how far he had to go to pay off his debt. Well, he started a Network site where other people could put in their information and he'd set up a pie charts for them. Then we all could compare and make it public our debt or savings goals.
My pie chart is still at exactly 50%, but I will have some money to give toward it soon.

Podcasting saved my life

Here's my housekeeping tip of the day.
I hate cleaning the house, but it's something we all must do. If I just have it on my list for the day, it doesn't get done. But when got my iPod for Christmas, I decided to listen to my favorite podcasts only when I'm cleaning the house. I'll see how much needs to be done, and pick a podcast of suitable length, and go to work. I just got done listening to the No Credit Needed Podcast - it was 30 minutes long - and I finished the laundry, dishes, wrapped a present, changed the fan filter, balanced my checkbook, and picked up the living room and bathroom - all without a second thought.

It's pretty much the same as setting a timer and cleaning for only a set amount of time, but with a podcast you have a disctraction and the time goes much faster. Plus if you pick the podcasts you really really like, you're less likely to put it off for hours or days at a time.

Frugal Storage for Miniatures

Brent's hobby is Warhammer 40k - it's a sci-fi miniatures game. He has over a hundred miniatures all around the house in various states of assembly, and they all need a home. He can't just chuck them all together in a box because they are fragile and need to be somewhat organized. So what's a gamer to do?
Well, there are storage units you can buy, except that they cost between $50-$100 for the larger ones. Brent came up with a better solution. He took empty egg cartons and stores his army there. Then the egg cartons fit almost perfectly in an old milk crate, and viola, a portable, safely stored army. He can fit over 50 minitatures per milk crate, all for no money at all.
Good job, baby! :)

March - Third thing you can do to improve your health

On a message board I frequent, some ladies and I are going on a health journey based on this article - 10 Things you can do to Improve Your Diet We're taking one thing each month and making it a habit.

March is cutting out High Fructose Corn Syrup - good timing for the first day of Lent

Oh CocaCola, may it be as if I never knew you
May my lips forget your sweet taste
May my mind never think of you again
I must be strong when I pass the soda machine
I must only order water at restaurants, even though I hear you calling me
I wish I had never become addicted to you, CocaCola
But it is better to have tasted and lost, then to have never tasted at all

*sigh*

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is an artificial sweetner made from corn. It's basically a highly concentrated sweetner, and it's cheaper for food companies to use than sugar, so it's in everything.
Since it's an artificial sweetner, your body wil metabolize it differently from sugar. HFCS does not stimulate insulin production (which will help your body convert sugar into energy), nor does it stimulate lepitin production (which tells your body that you are full). So basically, it will make you fat. Plus, since it's so highly concentrated, your body will keep craving it more and more until you almost have an addiction to the stuff. There's also a whole host of theories that say it causes type II diabetes among other things.

If you really want to give up HFCS, you will have to read the labels on everything. Like last month's Partially Hydrogenated Oils, HFCS is in almost every processed food. Mainly it's in soda, but also breads, cookies, crackers, cereal, yogurt, juice, candy, salad dressing, catsup, jam, spaghetti sauce, and all kinds of things you wouldn't expect. It may take a while to find the products that don't have this, but then you can just stick to that brand and be safe. You may have to read a lot of labels, but more natural products are out there. Just forget the WonderBread and CocaCola.

About a year ago, I gave up all sweets (I lasted for two months), and it really was beneficial. I was having almost constant headaches and had massive mood swings (especially around 'that time'). I avoided all sugar, but I really think it was the HFCS that was affecting me. I felt so much better for those couple of months. Even now, I have the occasional soda, I feel dizzy and have a headache for the rest of the day, sometimes into the next. So, I really recommend trying to give HFCS up - even if it is just for Lent.

I'm going to try and put together a list of products without HFCS, so I'll let you all know on that.

First of March

Happy March!
March is a wonderful month - my favorite, in fact. So many great things happen in March that you have to admit that it is specifically blessed by God.
Who can deny that March is the best month of all. :)