Some small steps

I’ve just started reading a really great book, “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be.” It is just the kick in the pants I need! I just took a break from my reading and unsubscribed from the e-shopping emails that I receive from Banana, JCrew, Ann Taylor, Williams Sonoma, etc. that make it so tempting to buy online. Can’t pass that sale up! I also took all of my credit cards out of my wallet except for one Visa in case of emergencies–real emergencies. Baby steps…

Life, and revising my budget

I’ve been thinking a lot about my future lately, and I’m worried. I’m worried that life is going to pass me by and I won’t have experienced and accomplished the things that I really want to do. Like living in Europe for at least six months or moving to a new city or going to grad school. I feel like I’m stagnating. A friend from high school emailed me recently (we haven’t really talked since graduating) and she wants to know what I’ve been up to for the past 20 years! And I feel like I really have nothing interesting to tell her. I graduated from college, moved here and I’ve worked at various jobs, slowly moving up the ladder. Really, that’s about it. I’m not unhappy, just feeling a bit discontented. And I don’t think I can really do anything about my situation until I get my debt paid off. So here are some ideas on things I can cut out of my budget so I can put more money toward the debt:

• Discontinue cable. I’ve gotten used to having it and DVR. It would be hard to part with, but I’ve done without it before. I can do it again. Savings: $70/month
• Get rid of my land line. I’m not totally sold on going with just a mobile phone, but I can at least try it. Savings: $55/month
• Cancel my dial-up. I’ve never gotten around to this because of the pain of moving to a new email address. Savings: $23/month
• Cancel my gym membership and join the gym at work. Savings: $10/month
• Move to a pay-as-you-go mobile phone plan. Savings: Probably about $30/month. This would be more desirable than cancelling the land line, I think.
• Cancel paid parking at work. Savings: $40/month. Actually, we’re moving to a new building with free parking next month!

This weekend, I’m going to work on moving my email account with my broadband provider and contemplate the other changes. Any other ideas?

Making money over the weekend

Yesterday was a perfect day for a yard sale, and I ended up making a little over $90 in four hours. Not bad! Not to mention that I got rid of a bunch of stuff–I ended up taking the leftovers and some other stuff that I had set aside to Goodwill. I love getting rid of clutter! (And I can write off the 10 bags of donations too!)

Consigning clothes is another good way to edit the clutter out of your closet. I picked up my latest check from my consignment place on Friday–$49! So now I have enough money to get me through until next pay check. The monthly fee I am paying for chiropractic services is killing my budget!

I love my bicycle!

Gas prices are floating between $3.94 and $3.99 here. Ugh. Luckily, I live only six minutes from work, so I don’t use an excessive amount of gas commuting to and from the job. But because I live so close, I have always said that I would start riding my bike to work. But then I decided that I needed a commuter bike (with fenders and a chain guard) in order to arrive at work in a presentable state. So after four years, I finally bought one last week–a Giant Suede GX. Really, it was a good deal–on sale and I got 12 months same as cash. I am planning on riding it to work tomorrow for the first time, weather permitting. (Did a test ride last week–it only takes 15 minutes from driveway to building.) Hopefully this will alleviate some of my gas expenses, allow me some badly needed exercise and help the environment. I see myself riding this bike to work, church, the grocery store… Check it out… isn’t it cute??

Living thrifty

I feel like I’m loaded lately. I do make a decent salary and now that I’ve cut back on some of my expenses, I’m realizing how much money I do bring in. Imagine how much I’ll have once I am free of my credit card debts!

I recently read in Newsweek about the proliferation of blogs on living thrifty. One blog mentioned in the article is http://bethriftylikeus.blogspot.com. I checked it out–these people are serious. The wife (the blog features a couple) saves all kinds of money by using coupons she finds on the Internet and taking advantage of sales–often she ends up getting things for a ridiculously low price or even for free. Her weekly grocery budget is $30 (for her, her husband and their baby). Wow!! She’s not above trash-picking either. I think I have much to learn. 

Anyway, I feel that I made some good progress this month. I just got my tax refund ($2100) and used it to pay an extra $1000 on my Sears card (the interest rate is so high on that card–so this payment should help). I also just put my last payment to my sister in the mail. Yeah! I met some of my other goals for this month: my Banana card balance is now below $2000 ($1953.99) and I transferred one of my recurring payments from my Sears card to my debit card. I’ll pay my Macy’s card off this week too. I can’t wait to add up my new balances and see where I stand.

Clipping coupons

I used to clip coupons regularly, a la my mom, who was the coupon and refunding queen in the day. With life so hectic though in the past few years, I’ve gotten away from this practice. However, I recently took it up again and today during a major Target run, I saved $7.65 in coupons! A couple of the toiletry items are things that I don’t need right away, but the coupon was about to expire, so I bought them. I should be stocked up for a while. The key to coupons: look for coupons for things you already buy. I tend to be pretty brand-loyal, so I am always looking for coupons for my favorite toilet paper, laundry detergent, cat food, toothpaste, etc. And watch out for food coupons–it seems that most of them are for expensive processed foods. Again, I search for coupons for the items I always buy (yogurt, etc.) and leave the ones for the stuff I wouldn’t normally buy. This way, I don’t end up spending a lot more on expensive (even with the coupon) food products.