scfr's Personal Finance Blog

Frugality has crept in to so many areas of my life that I don't even think about it. Yesterday when I was opening the mail, it dawned on me that even the way I open the mail could be considered frugal.

I open the mail standing up, with the following within arms length: shredder, paper recycling bin, my "desk" (it's actually just a folding table right now due to our recent relocation).

Unsolicited credit card offers go straight in to the shredder without being opened.

Any catalogs that made it past my "do not mail list" efforts go straight in to the recycling bin. [Exception: There are 2 companies whose catalogs I will peruse once or twice a year, but they send them out more frequently than that so they usually go in to recycling.] When I do look through a catalog, I'll mark something I might be interested in, then put the catalog aside for several days (or even a week). If, when some time has passed, I still think the purchase is a good idea, then I go ahead. But often the catalog just goes to the recycling bin and the purchase does not get made.

Bills get put in the "To Pay" file in order of due date. (Paying bills on time is so important.) If a credit card statement has checks attached, those are immediately torn off and put in to the shredder. If advertisements are included with bills, they go directly to the recycling bin.

In contrast, I know someone who makes opening the mail almost a form of daily entertainment. She makes herself a cup of tea and then sits down with her stack of mail which usually includes a ton of mail order catalogs. She flips through the catalogs with great pleasure. As you can probably guess, she often ends up ordering from those catalogs, and as a result her house if literally filled to the rafters with "stuff" and her bank account is practically empty. I feel so sorry for her. But who knows ... she probably feels sorry for me since to her my life may seem pretty spare since it's not filled with knicknacks and closets stuffed to overflowing with clothes.

On Saturday we took a day trip down to San Antonio to do some househunting (more on that later, in another blog entry ...) so I waited until Sunday to do my monthly Net Worth calculation. It was down a bit from a month ago; not a lot, just a bit. It didn't bother me because I knew what the reasons were, and in the grand scheme of things they just don't matter. For example, I paid and recorded our December rent payment at the end of November instead of the 1st of the month. Also, my retirement funds were down a bit, but they had been up freakishly the month before, so I wasn't concerned.

But I was worried about my DH's reaction. I knew he might have a little freak out and would want to start moving money around (he just can't stand to see any sort of dip, even if it's just one month), so I did some pre-emptive strategizing. No, I did not do any "creative accounting" ... No money secrets in our house. Instead, before showing him the monthly figures, I looked up what our NW was 3 months ago and one year ago. Then, when he saw the monthly figures and he said "What?!?" with that "here-comes-trouble" tone of voice, I just calmly explained why, and then said "But look at the change from 3 months ago ... And look at the change from a year ago!" And you know what ... He got it! He looked at the big picture, and saw that a one month dip is not the end of the world! Over-reacting was averted ...

I was inspired to take that approach (using what I know about how my DH thinks and staying one step ahead of him) by Ima_saver ... It makes me chuckle how she takes out a loan to buy a car even tho' she could pay cash, because it keeps her car-crazy husband from buying a new car every year!

Caution - Vent ahead ...

An acquaintance of DH's just called him for the 2nd time in about 6 years. The guy just started some natural supplement marketing program that sounds and awful lot like a pyramid scheme. Tried to sell DH on going to a marketing pitch ... er, I mean "free lunch." Last time the guy called DH was about 3 years ago, also when he had just gotten in to a similar scheme. [Wonder why he's not still doing that one? Hmmmm.....]

This guy didn't even know we weren't in Seattle anymore!

Blech --- Does it bother all of you as much as it bothers me that someone would call you up only when they are trying to sell you on something? Blech, blech, blech.

And doesn't this guy realize what a smart fellow my DH is? He would never get sucked in to such a scheme, so why waste his time calling?

Okay - I feel better now - Thanks for listening!

I just sent off my resume with an on-line job application! Big deal, right?

Well ... In my "career life" I got one job right out of college that I kept for almost 17 years (survived 2 mergers and moved steadily up the ladder); did a couple temp jobs in-between that didn't have very strenuous hiring procedures; then I started my own business.

So, it has been ages and AGES since I sent out a serious resume. Mine was kind of dusty! Feels good to have it dusted off.

Hiring has sure changed quite a bit with the whole on-line application business. [When I got my first job out of college, our office did not even have a PC. We had a typewriter, a fax, and a teletype machine.]

The job I applied for is a temporary government position. I don't know if I'll be offered a job or if I'll even want it if I am offered it, but I thought I'd give it a shot!

I like that it is TEMPORARY. Since we haven't bought a house yet, I don't know what part of Austin we'll be settling in, so I haven't started looking for full-time, permanent work yet. And to tell you the truth I really enjoyed being self-employed, so I may decide to go that route again.

It feels good to have pushed myself to try something new.

We don't eat out very often, so it was a nice splurge for us yesterday when we had lunch at Costco after finishing our shopping there. DH had the hot dog & soda combo, and I had a slice of pizza. The total bill for the 2 of us, including tax, was $3.78. Not a bad price tag for a splurge!

Awhile back I mentioned that I had found a foreclosure house that we would probably be able to get at a greatly discounted price, but that needed to have semi-serious some work done. This house is in a desirable, established neighborhood and has "good bones" but it has some issues that are probably due to the fact that the people were losing their home and just stopped keeping it up.

Took DH to see it ... He looked at it for about 2 minutes and said "NO WAY."

Okey-dokey ... At least now I know that he didn't really mean it when he said he was willing to buy a fixer if it was a great deal!!!

We've been doing TONS of looking together the past week, and I've concluded that, in spite of what he says, he will really only seriously consider a brand new or almost new house that is in great condition. Okay; that's easy; I just automatically rule out any houses over 3-4 years old.

But he has also been showing interest in houses that are significantly higher in price than what we had talked about originally. [Interestingly, my target price that a couple months ago was "way too high" according to DH is now too low according to the same guy! ]

He found one house in particular that he is quite smitten with. I had been in the neighborhood and liked it, and suggested that DH go take a look. There was one house in particular I mentioned he should look at. When DH was on his way home from visiting that neighborhood, he called me. I asked him what he thought of the house and he said ... "Let's talk about it when I get home." All I could think was "Oh-oh!!!" When he got home, he was all sweet, asking if he could pour me a glass of wine, etc. All I could think was "Oh crap! What is he cooking up in that brain of his?" Well, turns out he visited several houses in the neighborhood and fell hard for one that is significantly higher $$ than what we have been looking at.

He took me out to see it, and to tell you the truth, other than being larger than what we would ideally like, it is a perfect house.

So I started crunching numbers. I guess I was hoping the numbers would say that the house wasn't remotely doable for us. Well, it's doable, and doable comfortably, according to the established rules of thumb. Motgage amount isn't a problem, since we'd be paying cash. House price would be no more than 2.5 times our average annual income (and probably more around 2.3 times, if we can get the price we think/hope we can). Property tax payments and upkeep are affordable. We'd still have plenty of cash reserves to keep DH's business running smoothly. We'd still have at least a year of expenses in our EF.

The sticking points for me are that the house would represent a larger percentage of our net worth than what I would like to see (I was shooting for no more than 25% but this house would be about 30% of NW), and we would lose the interest income on the money that would go in to the house. This last one's a biggie.

So, we are grappling with the question that everyone does (or certainly should) when they think about buying a house: What is most important for me when it comes to buying a house?

Since lists help me sort out my thoughts, I made a list of most important features of a purchased house. (If you can think of others, please let me know.):

- The price is cheap = Finances will be very comfortable

- The price can be had for significantly under market (it's a "good deal")

- The house has good investment potential

- The house is brand new or nearly new, in pristine condition

- The house is low-maintenance for an easy lifestlye (think condo as the easiest and go up from there)

- The house is small and/or energy-efficient = good for our planet

- The house is in a good location (safe, nice neighbors, easy to get to where you need to go)

- The house is the sort you would get a lot of pleasure living in = It's what "gorgeous" looks like to you

Both DH and I are struggling to figure out which qualities are must-haves for us. Of course, we'd love a house that is "all of the above" but we are realistic enough to know that at most we can hope to get half of those qualities.

DH reminded me that I am more practical-minded, and that he is more likely to use his 6th sense about these things (makes us a good team, I guess). Fact is, his 6th sense has resulted in some pretty good decisions for us so far. However, I know it would be foolish to make the biggest purchase of your life without really thinking it through first.

So ..... Am I being too cautious/conservative? ..... Is he developing "eyes bigger than his stomach?" ..... Will it take us another 2 years to buy a house? ..... Stay tuned.

I've never once shopped on Black Friday --- Generally speaking, I'd rather have elective surgery than face the crowds!

However, since moving to Austin, DH & I have been talking about getting a GPS to help us navigate the maze of roads here (it would be especially useful in our house-hunting efforts), so I contemplated putting on my shopping armour and fighting the hoardes if I could find a screaming deal.

I've been reading up and know what sorts of features are desirable, and got a general idea of prices. When yesterday's paper came I went through all the advertisements and looked at all GPS on sale. I looked at everything, including (but not limited to) the door busters.

Generally speaking, the sale prices were not any better than what I could find on-line or elsewhere. There was one door buster item that was $30 less than the next-cheapest price (and $30 is not an inconsiderable savings, so I would have been willing to muster my courage and venture out), but the model that was offered in that case wasn't very highly rated and seemed to be an out-dated and not very desirable model.

I started thinking that Black Friday is just a bunch of hype, and that people aren't really getting the deals they are lead (by the retailers and even the media) to believe they are.

End result = I'm still sitting here at home, blogging. My record of never once shopping on Black Friday stands.

P.S. - Maybe I'll find the sort of deal I'm looking for on Craigslist after the holidays, when someone is trying to unload an unwanted gift or has buyer's remorse??? If anyone wants to unload a good GPS at a fantastically discounted price, let me know!

Most Americans are familiar with Norman Rockwell's beautiful picture, "Freedom From Want" showing a family sitting down to a bountiful turkey dinner. It was part of a series titled "The Four Freedoms": Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want and Freedom of Speech.

In my late-20's or early-30's I finally figured out that the secret to achieving Freedom From Want is not in getting more stuff but in wanting less. I have my health, a wonderful husband, a precious dog, a loving family, a roof over my head, and plenty to eat. Everything else is just icing on the cake. I am blessed and very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

P.S. - If you aren't familiar with it, here is a link to the picture:

http://www.normanrockwellvt.com/NewsletterIssues/FreedomfromWant.htm

Last night I returned from a 9-day trip to Washington DC and NYC. It was a wonderful trip full of fantastic experiences. If they are able to, I highly recommend that every US citizen visit Washington DC once in their lifetime. I believed that before I went there (that is why I planned for a long time and set money aside for the trip), and now that I have actually been there I believe it even more strongly.

We visited the Memorials on The Mall (it was Veteran's Day Weekend, so there were many veterans there; as you can imagine that made it even more emotionally moving than it already is --- fortunately, we had packed our tissues). We toured the Capitol building and Botanic Gardens, the National Archives (where we saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights), the National Portrait Gallery, Air & Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, Museum of African Art, and the Sculpture Garden. We saw the Zero Milestone, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, Lafayette Square, St. John's Church, Decatur House, and the White House from the front and back (yes - we stood there with the other tourists, gawking through the fence). We shared DC-themed ghost stories in the evenings after dinner (I read up on them before the trip). We ate pizza at Union Station. We sat on a bench on The Mall, eating Carousel Dogs, with views of the Washington Memorial in one direction, and the Capitol in the other. We even saw a drug bust going on next to the Potomac River! We spent an absolutely delightful day at Mount Vernon.

In NYC, I wanted to just hang out with my family, and that is exactly what I did. In DC I played tourist, but in NYC it was all about loved ones. The only excursion we made was to a neighborhood park. Coloring pictures and playing games and musical instruments with my niece and nephew was much more rewarding than sightseeing or going shopping!

Of course, this trip cost money. I had set aside $2,000 for the trip, and then shortly before the trip I pencilled out a budget of $1,734. I actually spent $1,511 so far (I still have to get my pictures developed, but even after I have done that I'll be at least $200 under budget). Overall, I am pleased with my spendings. I did everything that I wanted to do to have a fantastic experience. I economized where I reasonably could (by walking and taking public transportation, and eating breakfast & dinner at our rental, for example), but also enjoyed some pleasant splurges that I would never do in my everyday life (such as buying a butterscotch sundae in the middle of the afternoon). Here are my numbers, budgeted and actual. There is only one item on this list that bothers me: I had purchased a bus ticket on-line at a great sale price, but I screwed up my reservation and I had to reissue it at full fare plus a $4 service charge. That was $38 spent completely needlessly, and since it was due to my own carelessness, it does bother me. But, looking at the big picture of my total expenditures, I think I did pretty well.

Mileage to & from the airport (DH drove me there & picked me up) = $48 Budgeted & Actual
Airfare = $311 Budgeted & Actual
Lodging = $840 Budgeted & Actual
Bus between DC & NYC = $35 Budgeted (Actual = $73 --- Ouch!!!)
Food & Beverages = $180 Budgeted (Actual = $101)
Local Transportation (Shuttle bus, Metro) = $70 Budgeted (Actual = $47)
Admissions = $25 Budgeted (Actual = $13)
Film & Photo Development = $30Budgeted (Actual = $5 + Photo Develeopment, not done yet)
Gifts = $100 Budgeted (Actual = $48)
Souveniers = $50 Budgeted (Actual = $25)
Misc = $45 Budgeted (Actual = $0)

THANKS AGAIN to all of the SA members who offered money-saving tips and advice on what to see!!! You all really helped in my trip prep!

Warning ... This post may be viewed by some as a rant, but I don't mean it that way. It is meant to start a dialogue about thinking beyond the catchy slogans when it comes to discussions about debt.

There was a thread over on the forums recently where someone got on their high horse preaching about being debt-free.
It is easy to say "I want to be completely debt-free" but if you stop and really think about it deeply, you will realize how totally impractical that is.

Yes, it is 100% possible to pay as you go with cash for consumer purchases and avoid debt that way. Yes, it is definitely possible to save up and pay cash for major purchases such as appliances and cars. And I suppose that, yes, you could even save long and hard and pay cash for college and for your very first home (or just not buy a house and rent forever)...But really, how practical is that?

Like many of you, I prefer not to have personal debt. I am one of those who paid off my mortgage early. I don't carry a balance on my credit cards; I have no personal loans (no student loans, no car loans, nada). But I am not going to run around spewing the anti-debt slogans that I heard on some talk radio show, because I realize that debt has a place in our society, and sometimes it is very positive.

So, this is for those of you who want to preach about being anti-debt ... here is something to think about, if you are capable of opening your ears and mind wide enough: If you are really and truly going to promote a debt-free lifestyle, then shouldn't you be voting "NO" on every school, hospital, highway, and library bond that appears on your voter's ballot? Don't you realize that when you vote to approve a bond for public works, you are voting FOR DEBT?!? Shouldn't you be going to school board meeting and insisting that the children in your district attend school in run-down and outdated buildings until the district has enough cash saved up to pay for a new one? Shouldn't you be advocating that residents be allowed to die instead of upgrading hospitals with DEBT?

Sure, it would be fantastic if our local governments had enough reserves to pay cash for everything, but that is a pie-in-the-sky dream. Are you willing to make children, the ill, and yourself suffer until that fantasy day comes?

Lady Luck smiled on me 3 times today. The lucky events, in order of increasing importance:

1. I found organic frozen Earth's Best waffles on clearance at Target for $1 a box, and they even have a cute picture of Cookie Monster on the carton!

2. DH returned from an overseas business trip, bearing gifts from family and associates as he always does. I know this will sound ungrateful, but often the gifts are something I neither want nor need and I have to find a way to get rid of them (donate, pass on to someone else, or sell), but this time they were absolutely perfect: A bit of cash (from his mom ... I wish she wouldn't but I can't find a gracious way to tell her not to), some chocolates (yee-haw!), and 6 pairs of socks! I am so low on socks and now I don't have to buy them --- They were exactly what I needed!

3. Now for the real doozy: As soon as we got back from the airport (after picking DH up) he wanted to check the oil in the car and told me to go on inside since it was cold. 2-1/2 hours later I went outside to find he had left the car doors wide open with his briefcase sitting on the back seat!!!!! Yes - there was cash in the briefcase, and yes, it was still there. Oh my goodness, that was a close call. I have no idea how many people drove by who could have just grabbed that briefcase and ran, but none of them did, and I am so grateful. Note to self: Do not leave DH alone with valuables when he is jet-lagged!

They say bad news comes in 3's. Maybe good luck does too.

Yea - The certificate of coverage and paperwork for our new health insurance policy arrived in the mail today! Having it in my hands is reassuring!

DH is self-employed so we have to purchase our own health insurance. The company we were insured with in Washington does not offer coverage in Texas, so we had to find a new company.

As a non-native English speaker, issues like choosing health insurance are things DH is more than happy to leave to me. (Heck, "Insurancese" is hard enough to figure out for those of us who speak English as a first language, right?)

Since this was my responsibility, and since I believe adequate insurance coverage is an essential part of our financial plan, it was a relief to open the envelope and find the certificate.

A newspaper article I clipped awhile back offered some very good advice on finding an individual policy. I ended up using www.ehealthinsurance.com to get quotes. I had wanted to go with Blue Cross / Blue Shield since they were rated A+ by AM Best, but they had some odd requirements that seemed to be saying "non-U.S. citizens need not apply," so I decided to go with United Healthcare which has an A rating. After some mind-numbing reading about coverage under different policies, I made my choice.

I decided to go with a high-deductible, HSA-eligible plan. [This is the first time we have had that type of plan.] Our premiums are a whopping $321 per month less that what they used to be. We will be funding our HSA up to the maximum amount allowed, so that is where the money we save on the premiums will be going.

Now I just need to choose where to set up our HSA (Health Savings Account). I am leaning towards HSA Bank because it's recommended by Kiplinger's. If anyone has had an HSA and can make recommendations, please chime in.

Anyway ... I know this is a very boring entry, but gosh, don't you all feel good when you get those really important financial tasks completed??? I sure do.

Awhile back I read the book "The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read" by Daniel Solin. It was a quick and very informative read, and I do recommend it.

In a nutshell, it explains why you should invest in low-cost index mutual funds and stay away from stockbrokers, and why asset allocation is so important. (I heard about this book on the Vanguard Diehards Investment Forum.) I was already a believer in low-cost index mutual fund investing, but this book helped solidify my beliefs and it was a real eye-opener about stockbrokers ... It offered the insider scoop on the tricks some brokers use to make their clients think they are smarter than they really are.

At the back of the book was a really interesting questionaire to help you determine your ideal asset allocation. It was very, very different from any other asset allocation quizzes I had done.

The ones I had done before were really simplistic: Age, years to retirement, and risk tolerence (I'm sure you've all done those things on-line). But I always felt those quizzes missed so much. I'd find myself asking: "Wait! What about the fact that our expenses are so low and we save a huge chunk of our net each year? Doesn't that count for something?!?" Intuitively I always felt that the stock/bond allocations spewed out were riskier than what we really needed. [60% stock, 40% bond was the most conservative I ever got with those simple on-line tools.]

Well, at the back of Mr. Solin's book there was a detailed but easy-to-follow questionaire that I completed, and it came up with a result of 10-30% stocks and 70-90% bonds as our ideal asset allocation. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather, and I do wonder if that may be a bit too conservative. But it definitely gave me something to think about and helped validate what I had been feeling intuitively. [In case you're wondering, Mr. Solin does recommend up to 90% stocks for some people, so he's definitely not anti-stock. It's just that his formula takes so many variables in to account, and in some cases he recommends something fairly risky, and in some cases like mine & DH's something extremely conservative.]

I hesitated to blog about this before because I knew you all would want to know what the formula was, and it's too complicated for me to explain and I didn't want to in any way infringe on Mr. Solin's intellectual property.

Then, our friend Broken Arrow posted a question on Asset Allocation on the forums, and that got me thinking about this book again, so I started looking around on-line, and lo & behold, I found the questionaire published!!! So, you all can take it yourselves and see what numbers you come up with.

Here is the link, thanks to baselle teaching me how to make one:

There's a part of me that is very reluctant to talk about giving since it can seem like bragging, but this blog is anonymous and charitable giving is a part of PF, so here goes ...

DH & I have selected a few organizations that we donate to annually. But occasionally we give a bit extra when there seems to be an extraordinary need.

Now that the evacuations in Southern California have grown to such a large scale, this seems to be one of those times when those of us who have our own financial houses in order should reach out and help the poor families affected by this disaster.

So, the pooch & I are off to take a walk, and we will be stopping off at the mailbox to drop off a check to "United Animal Nations" which (among other things) assists in the rescue & sheltering of animals during disasters. I know their coffers will be seriously reduced during this disaster, and we want to do our little part to help in rebuilding them.

http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=358

Next month, I am taking a 9-day (8-night) trip to Washington DC and New York City. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am! I have never been to DC, and it is a place I have wanted to go for a very long time.

Over a year ago, when DH & I decided we would probably be relocating and I would have the opportunity to take some time off and do some travelling, we earmarked some of our savings as my travel fund. After doing some research and getting some GREAT advice from Savings Advice members, I decided that $2K would be a more-than-ample budget. [This is actually a fair bit less than what DH & I had originally earmarked, but I decided I just didn't need all of it.]

Today I sat down and came up with an actual itemized budget, and my total is $1,734. This gives me a nice fat 15% cushion I can go over without blowing my slimmed-down budget. If I can stick to the $1,734 number while still doing what I want to do on the trip, I will be thrilled. If I go over by a bit, that will be fine. Unless I've made some gross error in calculations, I don't think I will go over the $2K unless I have a real emergency or turn in to a careless spendthrift.

Here are the numbers. The first 4 items I already know the actual cost, and the others are what I am budgeting in each category:

Mileage to & from the airport (DH will be driving me there and picking me up) = $48
Airfare = $311
Lodging = $840 [I do realize this is a lot. I am picking up the tab on a place large enough to accomodate myself & my siblings who decided to tag along on my trip.]
Bus between DC & NYC = $35
Food & Beverages = $180
Local Transportation (Shuttle bus, Metro) = $70
Admissions = $25
Film & Photo Development = $30
Gifts = $100
Souveniers = $50
Misc = $45

I've given myself pretty generous gift, souvenier, and food/beverage allowances. I've also added $5/day in the "misc" category as "mad money." So, I think this is a budget that is doable and won't cause a moment of feeling deprived.

If there's anything I've overlooked, please let me know!

Since beginning my househunt, I have run in to just about every type of realtor.

At the high end of the scale are the sharp & courteous (but not overly friendly) professionals who really seem to really know the market. Some are knowledgeable about building techniques, geography, and even interior design.

At the low end are the ones that seem to either ignore me or are distracted by something else, and aren't able to answer basic questions. These tend to be the Mercedes-Benz driving, rhinestone-studded-jeans wearing, French manicure types.

In one instance, a group of FOUR ladies were setting up refreshments at an open house; they were so busy getting ready for "their guests" that they could barely stop to answer the questions of an actual potential buyer that was standing right there. I did fill out the guest registration form, and FIVE days later one of the women called me --- she was not even a realtor but a mortgage broker pushing her services. I tried evading her questions ("No - We don't need help arranging financing" etc) but finally just came out and said we'd be paying cash. She thanked me and said good-bye --- Then, lo and behold, 15 minutes later the agent Emailed me letting me know how pleased she was to have met me --- yea right!!! blech

Well ... anyway ... Today I had a most interesting realtor encounter, like nothing I've ever experienced before. Pretty soon after I walked in to the open house, he was showing me a list of all homes for sale in the area with stats including how long they had been on the market (this is the kind of information I love). He also explained about how different areas around Austin have different types of soil and so construction in some parts is more stable (extremely interesting). He eventually asked "What are you looking for?" (the usual realtor question) and when I replied "a bargain" he paused for a second, kind of stared at me and then asked: "Are time & money on your side?" I replied "Yes" and then he said the words that no agent has ever said to me: "You guys should be looking at short sales and pre-foreclosures" ...BINGO! How did he know that is exactly the kind of thing we are interested in? Very interesting indeed.... Perhaps because he himself was not very polished (a bit of a slob, actually) he knew to look beyoned the fact that I came in wearing a Tshirt, plain tan pants, and no jewelry/makeup/manicure. Or maybe he just got lucky. Or maybe he says that to all the buyers these days. Who knows? We'll see what kind of follow-up he does. I'm still not convinced that I want to work with a realtor, but if I did, it would be someone like that: Someone who gives me hard core information, is trying to help me find a real bargain instead of trying to be my "new best friend," and who really listens to what I say and responds accordingly.

Who doesn't hate spending money on things that are completely unnecessary?

I avoid bank fees, late charges, penalties, and interest like the plague.

Even tho' it's sometimes a pain in the "you-know-what" I know one of the best ways to avoid those things is to stay on top of government rules.

The fact that I got 2 parking tickets in my 20's still bothers me --- What a waste of money --- If only I had been smarter I could have avoided them! [Knock on wood, I've never had a moving violation.]

Since we arrived in Austin, my dog has been licensed, and my car has had it's safety inspection and has been registered. Next stop: Driver's license! When all is said and done, I will have "rendered unto Caesar" about $145 not to mention the expense of driving around to take care of those things.

But just imagine the costs of not doing them and paying fines or penalties ... I can most definitely file these expenses under "money well spent."

Almost all of the time, I enjoy being frugal.

Sometimes it's because I enjoy the creative challenge of coming up with ways to reuse things or do things just as well but less expensively. [For example, squishing leftover bits of soap in to usable balls or creating my own condiments with items on hand.]

Sometimes the reward is so great that even tho' something is a lot of hard work I am willing to do it. [For example, having a garage sale or moving ourselves.]

Sometimes it's all about having a positive mindset and realizing that spending a lot of money isn't always better. [For example, enjoying cheap entertainment like walking the dog or reading a book from the library.]

Sometimes it's an intellectual challenge, which I find enjoyable. [Shopping around for the best deal on purchases, whether major ones such as a house or car, or minor ones such as cereal.]

But ... I will confess ... Once in a blue moon it is NOT fun. Sometimes I do it just because it is the right thing to do, because it keeps me moving toward my over-riding long term goal of financial security.

So ... you're probably wondering what this dreaded chore is that has me writing in a less-than-positive way? IRONING DH'S DRESS SHIRTS!!! Laugh if you like, but I just don't like ironing those things. I think it's because the payoff for the effort involved is so ridiculously low.

I don't mind housecleaning ... Yes, it's work and not always fun, but the reward is a nice, clean, sparkling home! I don't mind cooking simple meals, doing the dishes, laundry, etc, etc. I'm not a huge fan of yardwork but the payoff is great and it does provide a pretty good workout so I'm happy to do it. I don't even mind ironing simple, flat items like hankies, table clothes, etc. But those darn SHIRTS with all their little bits ...collars, cuffs, fronts, backs, and whatever you call that little thing that goes across the shoulders ... each little part has to be ironed individually, and all that turning and ironing this way and that ... all that time and effort involved and all you get for it is a shirt that is not wrinkled. Big whoop.

When we first got married we were less frugal minded. We were both working long hours at semi-yuppie careers, DH wore a dress shirt to work every day, and we took his shirts to a cleaners to be laundered. As we started getting better with our money I started ironing his shirts when I had the time (I'd say I ironed about half of them at that point); if I fell behind on the ironing or was out of town myself, some shirts still went to the cleaners. When DH's former employer switched to a business-casual dress code and he only needed dress shirts for client meetings and business trips, we stopped taking shirts to the cleaners at all and ironed them all at home. Since DH started his own business, he needs dress shirts only when he travels (plus occasionally for a really important meeting). The number of shirts needing ironing has gone down, but that hasn't helped my opinion of it. I still really dislike it!

If we ever reach the point where we are "set for life and then some," I seriously think I will start sending his dress shirts out to the cleaners again. [How's that for a silly "when I am rich" fantasy?]

In the meantime, I will continue ironing his dress shirts, and will continue reminding myself that it is for the greater good!

When you move, it's always interesting to see the sort of mail you get that is addressed to the previous tenant.

Today at our new apartment we received a "Frederick's of Hollywood" catalog addressed to a man. I realize he might have been buying stuff for his SO, or he might have even been a cross-dresser, but can't you just imagine that he was a frugal fella who figured getting the catalog for free was much cheaper than subscribing to Playboy?

Just added a new category, house hunting, since that is currently one of my biggest PF-related projects.

DH & I spent all afternoon yesterday visiting some new developments in the area, just starting to get a feel for the market. We noticed that some builders were offering pretty significant discounts for 30-day closes which means they are hungry to get cash in their pockets. Since we don't need financing (something we of course will not reveal to any seller's agent until an actual offer is made) and can close any time (we do not care if it is 7 days or 3 years from now) this seems to be a moderately good time to be a buyer.

This afternoon we are going to hit one particular city in the greater Austin area and visit as many open houses as we can.

At this moment, we are not looking for a house to buy, just getting a feel for the local real estate market.

We will probably change this strategy several times before we actually purchase, but as of today, this is our buying plan: If we find a house we like, we would be willing to buy it if we could get it for 25% less than current market price. [That is based on our thinking of how much, given the worst case scenario, prices could drop over the next few years.] So, we will need to find a buyer who is in a bit of a hurry to sell for whatever reason. If they won't sell for that price (25% below what we think is fair market price), we'll just move on to the next house. It's not like there is only one good house out there; there are tons and tons and we can be perfectly happy in many of them. We most definitely won't be buying a house because we fall in love with it! We'll be buying a house that we like and can get a great deal on.

The trick for us will be to figure out what that current market price is!

Have We Reached The End (a poem by A.A. Milne)

"Have we reached the end?" asked Pooh.

"Yes, I suppose it seems so ...
and yet,"

"Yes, Piglet?"

"It is also the beginning."

----------------------------------------

Thank you to all of you who posted well wishes on our move! I am writing this from beautiful, sunny Austin, Texas.

The move could not have gone more smoothly.

My mother and brother came to our place on Thursday (Sept 27). We had our farewell party that evening, and it was perfect! Everyone had a great time and the food was terrific. Even tho' 2 people cancelled at the last minute, we still went $21 over our $500 budget because more wine was consumed and more people took after-dinner coffee or tea than I had expected. It was money I was absolutely delighted to spend. We received $350 in gift cards --- gotta love it, everyone knew that the last thing we would want was one more thing to have to pack! I was also given a small framed old family photo that had belonged to my late grandmother, which I was more than happy to pack and which I will treasure forever.

On Friday morning we picked up our rental truck, and DH & my wonderful brother got about 2/3 of our things loaded that day. On Saturday morning my family left town, and DH & I worked on finishing packing and cleaning and loading. We were comfortably on schedule so decided to go out to eat at DH's favorite Chinese restaurant.

On Sunday morning we did the usual last-minute stuff (including loading our mattress) and left early, a full 1-1/2 hours ahead of schedule and without any last-minute scramble.

We stayed over 3 nights in Motel 6's along the way. DH had decided he was not comfortable towing a car behind the rental truck (it was the first time he had driven a truck of any kind) so I did end up driving our car separately. It was easier on DH, and definitely easier on our pooch who got to stretch out across the entire back seat instead of having to lie on the floor of the truck between our seats. I was really glad we had previously sold one of our cars and were down to just one car, so that last minute change of plans was possible.

The entire drive went very smoothly, and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. We did not stop to do any sightseeing, and that was fine.

BTW, kudos to Discover Card's fraud division for calling me on my cell phone on day 2 to question the "suspicious activity" (gas purchases in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming) on my card ... Nice to know they were watching out for us!

We got in to Austin on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday we finished unloading and returned the truck. I waited to blog until I had the "essentials" (kitchen and clothing) unpacked.

What is amazing is that all of our possessions (including the paperwork and office machines for 2 businesses) fit in to a 16-foot rental truck with a bit of room to spare! Aggressively selling off possessions really worked out well for us; not only were we able to do the move 100% ourselves (with loading help from my darling brother of course), we were able to rent a small truck, and we are now living in an apartment much smaller than what I could have ever imagined back when we developed this plan to relocate. Not only did we save on moving expenses, our monthly expenses are waaaay down too.

This is something that you fellow frugalites will appreciate ... A couple days before our move, a friend came over and looked around at the boxes and packing supplies in disbelief [I had visited her house when she did her last move, and she was sitting on her couch watching TV while a moving company was packing up her stuff] ... She said to me, " ... xxx ... You have money, why don't you just pay someone to do this for you?" I held my hands out to gesture at the packing stuff and replied " ... zzz ... THIS is WHY I have money." To which she could just reply "Yea ... I suppose you're right."

Boy, it sure feels good to have this great big project almost completed (although I still have quite a bit of unpacking to do).

Next project: HOUSEHUNTING!!! WHEE!!!

If anyone is planning a move and could use a little guidance, I highly recommend the book "29 Days to a Smooth Move" by Donna Kozik and Tara Maras. It's written in a workbook format with lots of checklists and spaces to write notes, so you don't just read it, you actually use it as your master moving organizer.

The authors spell out the major categories of things to do before a move as:

1. Readying the house for new occupants
2. Condensing your goods
3. Packing your possessions
4. Preparing the children (in our case we can substitute the much much easier "preparing the dog")
5. Organizing paperwork (estimates, change of address forms, etc.)
6. Saying goodbye

I have these written on a board in my office, and I make sure I am making progress on all of the categories (except number 4, the one about the dog) every single day.

No doubt this book falls under the "money well spent" category.

Well, time to get back at it ...

The big question for my $20 (Garden) Challenge this year seems now to be: Will I be able to break even (recoup my original $20 investment)? My grape tomatoes are still green-green-green. It is quite cool here and I have just under 2 weeks to go before my move, so I know the odds of actually harvesting a single tomato this year are slim to none. All I am harvesting now is the microgreens ... I sure am glad I made the mid-challenge decision to plant those, otherwise I'd have ended up in the red for sure!

Oh well ... I do not regret this challenge one bit. While I have MUCH to learn yet about gardening, I have made a start. This is what I have learned:

- Yes indeed, I can plant seeds and they will actually grow (my thumbs are not quite as brown as previously thought)
- Gardening can be done frugally ... no need to get sucked in by all of the gizmos and pretty decorations
- There are lots of resources out there for learning and plenty of really nice people like contrary1 and Joan.of.the.Arch who are willing to share their expertise
- Think cheap, healthy SOIL: This is the real secret. Most of my $20 challenge money went to buying potting soil (since I was limited to container gardening). I'll wait to plant my next garden until I have a house and have a composting system going.

Hi All! I got back from Austin late on Sunday. Everything went really well there. Austin is a beautiful place full of lots of friendly folks.

Temporary Housing: Great news! I had found a sublease on Craigslist and was keeping my fingers crossed that it would really be as nice as it appeared to be on-line. It was, so that is where we will be living. I drove to the sublease place as soon as I landed in Austin to check it out. The couple that has the lease had already moved out and cleaned the place, so I was able to give it a good lookover. [I had some alternate places lined up in case the sublease didn't work out, but fortunately didn't need them.] The rent has been paid through the end of Sept, so DH & I are taking it over from October which is perfect. The lease is up in April, so if we find a house to buy we won't be locked in to a really long term. The best news is that because we are taking over the existing lease we are paying $180 per month less than what the same floorplan in the same complex is currently renting for.

Friday evening I went out and bought cleaning supplies and brought them to the apartment.

Saturday morning I called carpet cleaners and found one that could steam clean the carpets same-day; they showed up within 3 hours. I took our application (pre-completed here at home) to the leasing office; they had a pretty slick system, just typed some info in to the computer and said right away "You're approved." Was glad to hear it.
Then I went and opened up an account at a local bank. Finally, I detail-cleaned the entire apartment, even tho' the previous tenants had done a pretty good job cleaning up.

On Sunday I went to Costco and bought some basic staples (dry goods, shampoo, TP, etc.) then went to the apartment and got it stocked. I even ran some bleach through the clothes washer so it is all sanitized and ready to use as soon as we arrive. [You frugalites will appreciate this: I took the hotel soap and stuck it in the shower, so that as soon as we get the shower curtain hung we'll be able to wash the road off.]

I kept thinking about my DH & pooch as I did all of this, and it felt really good knowing that I was giving them the "gift" of being able to arrive at our new place after what will probably be a long and exhausting road trip to find a well-stocked and sparkling-clean apartment waiting for them.

I'm home now for just 2 days. Tomorrow I leave on a 5-day trip to my mom's. There are some things that she wants help with around her house, and since I am "not working" this is a good time for me to go give her a hand. When I return, I'll have just 2 weeks until our move day.

Whew ... I may not be working for pay right now, but that sure doesn't mean I'm not working! I did come up with a temporary "title" for myself which you can see in my blog description.

I've really missed keeping up on all of your blogs ... I'm going to give them a quick scan right now, and hope that I don't miss anything too terribly important.

See you all again in about a week!

Tomorrow I'm off to Austin to choose our temporary housing (a rental apartment or house). After much eye-reddening searching on the internet and phoning, I have what I think / hope is a good plan. If it all works out, we'll have a good deal on a perfectly acceptable place to live temporarily. I think I have all of the documentation I need to do the whole apartment-application thing. [Copies of tax returns since we are self-employed, application forms pre-signed by DH since I'm the only one going, checkbooks and locations and hours of banks in case we need cash since I don't use ATMs, and even phone numbers of carpet cleaners in the area and the address of Costco ... More on those last 2 bits later, afer I return.]

I really cringe at the thought of giving out my SS# on an application and handing over a copy of my tax return, but there's no way around it. I can't even remember the last time I gave a "stranger" my SS, and after reading MonkeyMama's blog about ID theft it's the one part of this trip I'm dreading.

I'm flying down using DH's airline miles (paid a $10 fee), I'm staying at a place using his hotel reward card points that includes free continental breakfast, and I booked my rental car ages ago at a great weekend rate of $13.23/day base (it will total $41.42 for 2 days once all of the taxes and surcharges are added).

Typing this out reminded me of something ... I just stopped typing for a second to grab the $5 Starbucks gift card I got free for answering surveys on-line at Harris Interactive, just in case I need a late-morning or early-afternoon pick-me-up. [I drink coffee but make my own at home, so going to Starbucks will be a real nice treat for myself.]

I'll have to eat lunches & dinners out; I think as soon as I finish typing this I'll go to Subway's web site to scout out their locations where I will be. If I am going to be eating "fast-food" type stuff, I may as well go with the best alternative (fairly healthy, and a decent value for the money).

I'll also have to buy gas ... I think Mapquest has a feature where you can check out the cheapest gas by location, so I'll do that as soon as I pinpoint Subway stores!

Well guys, I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will be back after completing this big step in our "Relocating to a lower cost part of the USA" journey!

Today DH & I met with a CPA / Pension Consultant to discuss his self-employed retirement plans. We got some really terrific guidance, and it was definitely worth the time and cost. This is something I've been wanting DH to do for a couple years, and I'm so glad he finally agreed to do it.

He was reluctant because back when he set up his business he did hire a CPA to "do his books" regularly but we relaized all she was doing was recycling the information he was inputting to QuickBooks, and when he did ask her for advice what she told him wasn't very helpful. Since then, he hasn't hired a CPA for anything.

The woman we met with today was an entirely different story ... As DH said, "She is as sharp as my pencil."

The difference between a so-so, inexpensive CPA and a sharp-as-tacks but more expensive one is night and day. Just because a professional's hourly rate is higher doesn't mean they will end up costing you more. A well-qualified professional will be able to get the work done in a fraction of the time and probably save you money on top of doing a better job.

Today, Labor Day, was the last day I provided service to my clients. Friday was my last busy day with work, and things started really winding down over the weekend. No fanfare and no feeling of finality, tho', as I still have a fair amount of "wrap up" work to do. Of course, there was a tinge of sadness, but it was much less than I expected.

I started my business almost 4 years ago, and now it is ending. I have a feeling of accomplishment knowing that my little business was a success and made my clients lives easier & better.

Perhaps the lack of sadness is because I've been so busy with "forward-looking" things. I thought I would be done with my pre-relocation Ebay sales, but I am still chomping away at that elephant. And I have spent much of the last several days shopping around on-line for a rental in Austin and planning my scouting trip.

So ... What do I call myself now? Temporarily retired? Between jobs? In transition? On hiatus? On a very long vacation? Bumming around? I got my first "real" job (with paychecks and tax witholding) when I was 14 and except for a couple brief periods between jobs when I was actively looking for work, I have worked ever since then. For the first time in my life, I am not working and am not looking for work! It does feel a bit strange.....

Since Leona Helmsley's will and the fact that she left $12 million to her dog has been so much in the news lately, I thought this might be a good time to explain how we "little people" can make sure that our beloved four-legged children are taken care of long after we have departed this earth.

When my DH & I had our estate documents made, we did make a provision for our pets. We did not have a special document, we just had a paragraph inserted in the wills. Here is a direct quote from my will; I have left a few things blank for the sake of anonymity:

" ... I intend that the first xxx Dollars ($xxx) of ... my estate shall go to fund a trust for the benefit of any pets we own at the time of our deaths. My brother, xxx xxx, shall be the physical custodian and caretaker of our pets. He shall receive reimbursement for any funds actually spent for the care and welfare of said pets, and shall also receive compensation for his services, to be determined by the Trustee. My sister, xxx xxx, shall be the Trustee of this Trust, holding and managing the above sum for the benefit of our pets, as she sees fit, in her sole and absolute discretion. At such time as all of our pets are deceased, if any funds remain in this Trust, said funds shall be donated to a pet-related charity such as "xxx xxx" or "xxx xxx"in a proportion as the Trustee sees fit."

When I sent the Estate Documents and my "Letter of Instructions" to my Trustee sister, I included some comments and this is what I wrote to her about the Pet Trust:

"There is a large amount ($xxx) earmarked for a pet trust. You would probably want to set up a separate checking account for this, and have the trust file a tax return, so that you don't end up paying the taxes on the interest out of your pocket. Yes, we do realize that $xxx is a huge amount of money to leave to pet(s), and we definitely do NOT intend for our surviving pet(s) to live in the lap of luxury ... No Louis Vuitton dog collars, please!!! The reason this amount is so large is because:
- We want to leave ample money to cover our pets expenses
- We would never want any family members to have to pay for our pets expenses out of their own pockets
- We want xxx to be paid for the care he provides our pets
- We want to leave money to a pet-related charity, but only after all of the above-mentioned obligations have been fulfilled."

Compared to the amount that little Trouble Helmsley received, calling the amount we are leaving "large" is quite laughable. However, everything is relative, and compared to what our lawyer told us the average person leaves for their pets (a few hundred dollars) and as a percentage of our "estate" it is quite large.

Our pets are our responsibility, and when we bring them in to our family we are commiting to provide for them. That is why we felt it was important to make sure they would be taken care of (not pampered or spoiled, mind you, but have their basic needs met) for the rest of their lives.

Today when I was watering my tomato plants I noticed these little green bumps ... Took a closer look, and yes indeed, they are itty bitty little tomatoes.

My husband has been asking me in a teasing way whether we were ever going to see any, so I called up to him and had him come outside to take a look.

Since I am growing only the little grape tomatoes this year (since they supposedly grow well in containers), they don't have to get very big before they start ripening. I think I am going to be able to harvest some tomatoes before my move after all!

When doing laundry today I started thinking about how I have never in my entire life followed the detergent manufacturer's recommendations for how much to use. Depending on the condition of the load, I use between 1/2 and 2/3 of the recommended amount, and everything always comes out perfectly clean. The only time I use close the recommended amount is when I am washing my cleaning cloths, because they are so dirty. I think it was my grandmother who taught me this trick ... She was a child of the Great Depression and learned frugality out of necessity.

I wonder how much money I have saved over the years by adjusting the amount of detergent to what I think is necessary rather than what the company with the profit motive tells me to use?

I do the same thing with dog food. I've never given my dog the full recommended amount. Even tho he gets LOTS of exercise, if I gave him the full amount recommended on the back of the bag he'd be ... well, he'd be fat and the dog food company would be richer. I monitor his weight and adjust his food volume when necessary.

Come to think of it, tho' I very rarely take over the counter meds, when I do I will usually start with a half-dose and see if that works. That is probably more about not wanting to overmedicate than with wanting to save money and resources, but it's another example of where less can be just enough.