Saturday I spent all day at a volunteer event ... hard work but also social & rewarding & fun.

Sunday DH & I went to Asia Cafe where we spent $17 total (including tax) on a great Szechuan Chinese lunch. It's counter service so there is no tipping. The food is great; best Chinese we've had here in Austin. I highly recommend it to any Austinites who might stumble upon this blog.

After that we went to the Pioneer Farm Museum. Austin was having a 1-day event where admission at many museums around town was free. (Regular admission at that museum is $8.) The museum itself was really interesting, but what I enjoyed the most was how it prompted DH to start reminiscing about summers he spent as a child on his grandmother's farm ... using the outhouse, traveling down an unpaved road, feeding chickens & hogs, etc. It's not something he has talked much about, and I enjoyed hearing those memories. His grandmother was a tough & wonderful woman that he loved dearly.

In the evening I crashed & watched High Fidelity on DVD from the library.

There was a fair amount of driving around, and of course the cost of the lunch, but all in all it was a fairly frugal weekend for a whole lot of fun.

As mentioned in my last post, on Thursday we met with an estate planning attorney. DH & I talked about it a bit on Friday, mostly me asking if he wanted to proceed and him saying "maybe later ...I want to think about it a bit more." On Saturday I came to the conclusion that DH was never going to go for the high lawyer fee, that he was going to keep saying "later" indefinitely, and that could mean our documents not getting redone. As much as I really want to get some professional, proper documents in place, I also know that if I push DH all I'm going to get is push-back. (Same thing would happen if he tried to push me in to a major financial decision against my will ... we are both pretty strong and kind of stubborn that way ... it really bugs me when I hear people say things like "my way or the highway" when it comes to financial decision-making in a marriage ... but, I digress.)

So, I came up with a major compromise that I'm not thrilled about but that I know will at least mean getting new documents in place.

I asked DH if he would agree to let a top-notch estate planning attorney of my choice do our estate documents, regardless of the price, when we turn 50, if I do the documents myself now using Legal Zoom or DIY software. His eyes lit up like Christmas morning and he readily agreed. I think I'm going to have him put it in writing ... He has been known to conveniently "forget" promises made years prior.

Now I need to decide which program to use, and more importantly I need to decide if I want to do a DIY revocable living trust (the thought is intimidating, but maybe I just need more knowledge) or if I want to stick with a simple will for the time being.

Back in May I posted about how we were switching to OTA (over the airwaves) TV:

http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2009/05/10/we-are-switching-to-...

Wanted to do a quick update for anyone interested in doing the same.

While the process of installing the antennae was harder than expected (ended up hiring an installer), we are VERY happy with the switch.

We get 14 channels. 2 are Spanish language channels, 1 is geared towards people in the military (Pentagon channel or something like that), and 1 is just a weather map with recorded weather updates, so really 10 channels that we actually will watch.

Picture quality is crystal-clear. We are extremely happy with the reception. I'm sure the recent conversion to digital helps.

This is what we spent:
$68 for the antenna
$215 for professional antenna installation
$11 for the digital converter box ($50 - $40 government coupon + tax) ... the purchase of a big flat screen that is digital ready is still in the works, but on hold for a bit, so we went ahead and got a converter box.
TOTAL: $294
In addition, the digital converter box has to be plugged in to an electrical outlet, so we are using a bit more electricity that we would be with cable ... I think ... unless cable jacks also use electricity ... I don't know if they do.

If anyone's interested and wants more info, feel free to ask.

No more monthly cable bills ... Yippee!

OTA = Over The Airwaves
This is the "free" TV that is available to anyone with an antenna. This is the type of TV anyone my age or older grew up watching.

A move is such a great way to re-evaluate lots of things in your life. In addition to evaluating what things we really want to keep (as in, "Do I really want to lug this ratty object to the new place, or is it time to ditch it?"), you also start evaluating services and weighing the costs vs. benefits.

When it came time to order utility hookups at our new house, I really started evaluating our "need" for cable TV. In our apartment, cable is included, so we have not been paying seperately for it for 1-1/2 years. When we lived in the Seattle area, we used to have a semi-expensive cable package, because that was the only way for DH to add channels from his native country. Since his country's channels are not available where we live now, he started looking for other ways to watch TV, and now subscribes to a service where he watches TV from his homeland over the internet.

Other than a bit of CNN & CNBC (with a smattering of Animal Planet), the only TV I watch is major networks. So I started thinking that cable was not really necessary. I did some research, and the more I learned the more I liked the idea of living without cable.

In addition to loving the idea of not having to pay a monthly cable bill on top of the $25 we're paying for DH's internet viewing, I really like the idea of better reception. I learned that picture quality is better if you DON'T have cable, and this will especially be true once the switch is made to digital TV (June 12).

DH has been patiently waiting to buy a big screen flat panel TV. I asked him to wait until we had our new house and prices have come down. Once we're in our place, I'll give him the green light to go ahead and buy his big toy. I'll have him get an integrated HDTV one; that means it will already have an HDTV tuner built in, so we won't have to buy a seperate tuner. All we need is an antenna.

I ordered this antenna today: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_209TV55/Terk-TV55.html?o=v&sear...
With shipping, it came to $68.

DH will be installing it in our attic. According to on-line reviews I read, it is fairly easy to install. (It's an indoor/outdoor antenna. I knew an outdoor antenna would not go over well with the neighbors.) I don't know if we will have to buy any hardware for mounting, or if we have all of the tools we need, but even if we do have to run to Home Depot and buy something small, I figure we'll come in at $75 or less total. With cable at $49+tax, we will have recouped the antenna cost in 1-1/2 months or less!

If anyone else is interested in making the switch to OTA TV (and with the digital conversion coming up, can you think of a better time?), these were the sites I found most helpful in researching:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IOdgy2Geib8/learn/learningcente...

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Once we're settled in to our new place, I'll let you know how we like our "new" (actually retro) way of watching TV.

Has anyone else noticed grocery prices coming down a wee bit?

While the "HEB Banana Price Index" is holding steady at 49-cents per lb, I have noticed actual price CUTS on some items.

While everyone would agree that food is a "need," I am one of those people who mentally separates grocery items as to whether they are "more on the need side" vs. "more on the want side." That way, when I buy grocery items that are "more on the want side" of the equation, I know I'm making a little splurge and I realize that I'm treating myself, even if I'm not running to Starbucks or the manicurist. It's a way to get genuine pleasure from a relatively simple thing.

This past week, I've been able to treat DH & myself at the grocery store with the following purchases that are very much wants and not needs, and in some cases are things that we have not bought for quite a long time:

- A box of Bagelfuls (DH loves them) for $2 --- I used to wait until they were on sale for $2 or less. HEB has cut their price and this is now the regular price. You should have seen DH's eyes light up when I came home and told him.

- A carton of Tropicana for $1.99 (w/ Target coupon) ... And I see that Randall's has it on sale this week for $1.97 with coupon, so I'll probably be buying a 2nd carton. Wow! As much as we appreciate our usual OJ from concentrate (it has nutritional value, tastes good, and the price is right), honestly we do love Tropicana. What a nice splurge!

- 5 Lean Cuisine entrees (Spa Selections Butternut Squash Ravioli w/ Veggies ... my favorite) + Carton of Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches for $10 (This was one of HEB's Combo Deals). The frozen entrees will be a very nice treat for lunch at work, instead of my usual almond butter sandwich. And the ice cream sandwiches are a treat any way you look at them!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend, and I hope everyone is able to enjoy some frugal treats in the week ahead!

It sure is nice sometimes to just eat whatever I want for dinner! As long as it doesn't break the grocery budget and offers nutritional value, who cares if it only takes 3 minutes to prepare and 30 seconds to do the wash-up?

Tonight's menu? A green salad, egg whites nuked in the microwave (seasoned w/ Costco's store brand equivalent of "Mrs. Dash" and Kraft Parmesan Cheese), and Kashi frozen waffles topped with organic wild blueberries!

Martha Stewart I definitely ain't. But I am happy, full, don't have to deal with dishes this evening (I'm off to watch Lost guilt-free), and have managed to whip the grocery budget back in to shape during DH's absence.

1. Year End Net Worth Calculation: We ended up a leeeetle bit for the year. And when I say "leeeetle" I really mean it! 2%. Considering that ROR on mutual fund investments was -25.2% for the year, we can live with that. It means we retained enough of our earnings to ever-so-slightly more than offset our losses. Just like so many of you guys, living below our means was what saved us from being down for the year.

2. DH's Business (2008 results & 2009 outlook): DH's business for the year was down slightly (compared to his annual average). He had started the year off with a bang and we expected it to be an up year, but it didn't end up that way. In 2009, we expect business to be down more. There are a couple big factors working against us (one of them of course is the overall state of the economy), and a couple working in our favor. We will be satisfied with a year that is "just moderately bad to okay." And we know we will be fine even if it is really bad.

3. New Year's Resolutions: I don't make formal resolutions. My goals are created as the need arises, or as I am inspired by something, or learn something new that makes me realize there is something I should be working on. The ones I am working on right now are continuations of things I was already working on Dec. 31st.

While it's not a resolution, I did buy a special book for the new year ... "The Intellectual Devotional" ... I will be reading my way through that this year. Since it is formatted to be read starting on a Monday, I started it on Dec. 29th.

Again, while not a resolution, the one thing I was becoming dissatisfied with towards the end of 2008 was not using my time effectively. So, since the "devotional" (it is not a religious book BTW) is meant to be read one page each day, and since I am reading it in the evening, I stuck a post-it note to myself on the inside cover asking myself: "Am I satisfied with what I have to show for how I spent my time today?" So far, that has been a help. I hope it will continue to be.

4. In-Laws & Plans for the New Year: My FIL finally did it ... after much dragging-out, he got things wrapped up with his business and is now officially retired! I have mentioned before that DH & I want to give them something special such as a trip to commemorate their retirements (my MIL worked part-time at my FIL's business, so both of them retired). The gift is now in the planning stage! When we called to wish them happy holiday, we asked him where he would like to travel. He said he wants to come to the USA. And then he started listing the places he wants to visit. You'd think it would be something like "San Francisco, LA, and San Diego" or "Philadelphia, NYC, and Washington DC" right? But no! He said, "I want to go to Denver ... and Atlanta ... and Boston" ... LOL! That's so cute. (Places can seem so close to each other when you are looking on a map.) They want to come for 3-4 weeks, so I think we could actually make that itinerary work. We know this will be his last trip here, if indeed he is even able to make it this time. He has had some serious medical issues over the past few years, including a couple times he was rushed to the hospital for life-saving procedures ... Not the sort of thing that could be dealt with easily on a 13-hour plane ride. First he has to talk things over with his doctor, figure out what the risks are, and then decide if he wants to take them. DH & I have talked about it, and if the trip is a no-go, we are going to give them a cash gift and tell them to use it on anything that would make them happy. I mentioned that it might seem impersonal to give cash, but DH reminded me that in his culture it is perfectly acceptable, so that is what we will do.

5. Party: We got our first formal party invite since moving here to Austin. It's a "wrap up the holiday season" party. Isn't that a nice idea for a party, having it the weekend after New Year's? We did not have to worry about being out with the drunk drivers, we were able to stay home and calm our dog when the fireworks went off, and (most important for us old folks) no need to worry about staying up until midnight. Should be fun, and should be especially nice for DH, since part of the problem he has been having with Austin is feeling "out of the loop" socially.

I'm in the market for a digital camera (have been looking for a couple months). I checked the Black Friday specials, but the situation was exactly the same as last year when I was looking for a GPS: Yes, there were some fairly decent discounted prices, but the models that were being offered all left something to be desired. The top-rated models that Consumer Reports or other consumers deem to be "best buy" just aren't the ones offered up at steep discount. Once again, I skipped the Black Friday sales. (The digital camera was the only thing I was shopping for.) Call me crazy, but I'd rather spend an extra 30 or 40 bucks and end up with a camer I'll be happy with and get maximum use of ... After all, this is going to be the very first digital camera I have paid for, and I plan on keeping it as long as it functions.

I'm not prepared to write off Black Friday all together ... Next year if I'm in the market for something, I'll check the specials again. But so far my "streak" of finding absolutely nothing worth buying in the Black Friday specials continues.

Positive Number 1 - Electric: Got our most recent electric bill in the mail today. It's back under $100 per month ... yea! (We're 100% electric) And I had hoped to not go over $150 during the hot, high A/C months, and in fact our highest bill was $129.

Positive Number 2 - Food & Bev Budget: Don't expect to have any more food & bev expenditures for October (1 day left in the month and we still have plenty of everything), so I'm prepared to declare the first month of our new food & bev budget a success, with $22 left unspent. DH is completely on-board; even tho he enjoys grocery shopping, we agreed that for the time being I need to be the one to do all of the grocery shopping ... DH has not yet learned to resist the urge to throw some sushi or deli Chinese in to the cart. We have a househunting trip coming up in a bit over a month ... I thought we might have to add a bit to the budget to cover all of our eating out at that time, but now I'm thinking that if we can leave some unspent in November as well, we'll hopefully be able to cover the meals on the trip within our regular budget.

1 Negative - Twisted Metal Mess: Yesterday when I got home from work, DH told me he thought something was wrong with the garbage disposal. I stuck my hand in and found a mess of twisted metal that used to be the removable part of our garlic press! It is beyond repair, and we use quite a bit of fresh garlic, so we will be shelling out a bit of $ to buy a replacement. Not the end of the world, but definitely an unnecessary expense of $15-20. The one we had was about 20 years old ... No doubt there have been some improvements since we bought that one!
I'm thinking about the Zyliss ... Have read good things about it, and it looks nice. Any feedback from my fellow bloggers?

(At least the disposal seems to be running fine.)

1. On "Sensible Spending":

Went grocery shopping today. (For those of you following the HEB Banana Price Index, it is holding steady at 49-cents per lb.)

Midway through my trip I realized how much more comfortable my past couple grocery shopping trips have been. I had my list and coupons and pen, and I kept a running tally on my list of how many dollars worth of merchandise I had in my cart. Sometimes I paused to study the product and prices before deciding which item to buy. At one point I whipped out my little calculator before deciding on making a purchase.

What was comfortable about it? Not once did I get a funny look! I used to get funny looks from other shoppers quite often. Today no one looked at me sideways, and I noticed that I had a lot of compadres ... lots of people clutching lists & coupons. A nice older gentleman & I had a brief exchange over which package of frozen vegetables was a better deal with the in-store coupon. I saw something I rarely see ... people stopping and really looking and thinking before pulling something off the shelves, not just grabbing randomly. I saw one woman looking at the prices of soda with a VERY pained look on her face; I mean, I could almost see the internal struggle she was going through written all over her reddening, screwed-up face ... poor dear. I fought the urge to hug her and whisper "tap water ... it's better for you too" into her ear.

2. On "House Hunting":

We have about 80 houses on our watch list. Last weekend a very interesting thing happened ... On Monday, the status of 4 of them changed from "pending" to "sold." I found out the sales prices, and 2 sold for 97% of list, 1 for 99%, and 1 for 100%. Now, this does not necessarily tell the whole story ... for example, if the seller paid the buyer's closing costs, or threw in some appliances or a car or a vacation or whatever, then the sales price as percentage of list can appear inflated. And, please keep in mind that the houses that are likely to make it to our watch list are those that we consider to already be "bargain priced," so it's possible to percentage on our list that are selling is a bit higher than the percentage for the San Diego market in general. But still, it was interesting to see so many go to sold over one weekend (I had not been keeping track before this, but if my memory's correct there was maybe 1 going to sold every 2-3 weeks) and selling for so close to list.
Whether last weekend was a funny little blip or part of a trend remains to be seen. Very curious to see what will happen THIS weekend.

3. On "Investing & Risk Tolerance":

I've been thinking about this a lot the past few days ... You know those risk tolerance calculators that you can find on all of the mutual fund web sites (and other places)? Did they not work? Do they need to be re-calibrated? Or did people either just not bother to do them or not answer them honestly or without much self-awareness? Why do so many seem to be invested in things they very clearly did not have the risk tolerance for? The tools were right there for the taking, free of charge ... Did not enough individual investors not use them? Or did they not work as they should have? It's so baffling; am I missing something?

4. In Spite of the Craziness in the Stock Market, One Truth Remains: Numbers Don't Lie!

Yesterday my husband started talking about how he was thinking of moving his entire SEP-IRA to bonds - GASP! I knew I had to stay calm, so I just asked him why, and he started moaning about how much money he has "lost" (his word, not mine). I told him "you haven't lost money." And he said "how do you know?" I pulled out the good old-fashioned yellow sheet of lined paper from the front of his SEP-IRA file where I keep track of his annual contributions and I showed him how much he has contributed out-of-pocket and how much his balance is now, and whaddayaknow ... He hasn't lost money ... He has made money. Not a ton, but a bit. Up about 3-1/2% per year since he started contributing to his SEP (formerly a Keogh), tax year 2001, this in spite of the recent downturn. I think I've managed to talk him down from the ledge ... for now. I wonder how many other people have actually done better long-term than they think they have? They should look at the numbers ... they don't lie ... and they aren't emotional either.

Today DH & I went to The Salt Lick BBQ for lunch. It's an Austin classic. Not only was it fun, it was yum-yum-yum. I wish I could describe the pit where they barbeque the meat ... But trust me, it's really cool.

They served very generous plates full of meat (DH had ribs; I had a combo of brisket, rib, and sausage), potato salad, coleslaw, beans (hate to be picky but this was the only item that didn't really taste very good ... too salty), bread, pickles, and onions. I brought half of mine home, so I'm getting 2 meals out of it.

Poor DH was so delighted with the delicious taste that he started gobbling his food too fast and had polished off his whole plate before realizing how full he was getting ... He started complaining on the car ride home about being too full! Funny since initially he wasn't 100% sold on the idea of going ... His reservations disappeared as soon as he took the first bite.

Plates were $9.95 each; with tax & tip we spent $25. Absolutely worth it! It was a great outing. With the exception of the free breakfast at Ikea, this was my first time out to eat in about 6-7 weeks, so I think that added to the pleasure.

On a side note, I am deleting the Bat Flight at Congress Ave Bridge from my list of things to do. Bats are a big part of life here in Austin (they help control the mosquito population), and the bridge bat flight looks really cool. But I found a grove of trees near where I live where several times I was able to watch bats taking flight at sunset (right after birds flew in to roost ... it was like they were trading places), and I saw several bats when I went on the cavern tour. While that's not the same as seeing the big bat flight, I'm satisfied that I've had enough "Austin bat experience" and I can save the expense of driving to and parking downtown without feeling like I'm missing out.

Where have you had most luck buying the best home furnishings? "Best" means the right combination of price and quality ... whatever that may mean to you.

I am starting a list of places to shop for home furnishings (mainly furniture) after our move, and this is what I have so far. What I'm really looking for is alternatives to the "regular" retail stores, tho' I will start there for pricing benchmarks. I am totally receptive to the idea of buying 2nd hand (with some exceptions, such as mattresses).

Freecycle

Estate sales

Garage sales

Thrift stores

www.craigslist.org

www.shopgoodwill.com (Goodwill auctions)

E-Bay

www.overstock.com


What am I missing?

1. Gasoline: Yesterday I finally saw a price below $3 ($2.989/gallon for 87). Wouldn't you know it, I had filled up a few days earlier. Oh well, I guess the laws of dollar cost averaging apply to gas fill-ups as well as mutual fund investments ... Maybe the next time I need to buy the price will be down even more.

2. Groceries: I have decided that the "HEB Banana Price Index" is the best way for me to track grocery price trends ... Granted this method is VERY informal and EXTREMELY unscientific, but it is the one item I buy most frequently, and the change in price of that item does seem to mirror the overall price trend of the types of groceries I buy. Back in May I blogged about how prices had gone from 33 to 44 cents per lb. Shortly thereafter it went to 48 cents and very quickly to 49 cents ... Wish I had bothered to note the date but I'm guessing June? Well ... since then the price has remained steady, so nothing to complain about.

3. Revised Food & Drink Budget: DH is on board, although right now it is in more of a "we'll see how it goes" mode. I would prefer a firmer commitment, but I'll take what I can get.

4. Medical Insurance: We pay for our own, an individual policy. Got notice that as of November it's going up $48 per month. Oh well. I won't go without it. Best to focus on what I can control. Sure glad the new food & drink budget is in place.
On a side note, while I am looking forward to the move to San Diego, I am NOT looking forward to possibly having to look for an individual health care policy again (it's just so mind-numbing and such a heavy responsibility). If I can transfer the policy I have right now to Cali I will do that.

No, the fact that 2 of my banks (WaMu & Wachovia) went buh-bye within a period of 5 days did not cause me to take a long walk off of a short pier. I'm still around. It's just that DH's business and my volunteer activities have really kept me hopping, and I did not want to crank out a hurried blog entry that would end up sounding completely incoherent.

First, on the bank thing. I know you're all sick of hearing about it, but as far as I know I'm the only one around here who has accounts at both of the "W" banks, so you might be curious to know how I feel about the whole business. It's fine. Really. Since WaMu was a bona fide failure, it was more disconcerting. But we had already done what we could (short of panicking and pulling all of our money out) to feel prepared for a failure. And with Wachovia ... well, the irrational side of my brain thought that it would have been nice if I could have had a couple weeks between bank blow-outs to get myself prepared emotionally for it! But then again, maybe it was nice to just get it all over with at once. I'm still keeping my eye on what will happen with my yields. With WaMu, I have an MMA. Don't have very high hopes there. With Wachovia, most of my money is in CDs, so I am hoping that my rates will be in effect until the CDs mature.
I went in to my WaMu branch yesterday (had volunteer-related business that had to be taken care of), and the mood there was quite upbeat ... A big change from Friday.

On a really positive note, I did manage to earn some respect points with my DH for the nagging I did to get him to switch his business account from one that was not FDIC insured to one that is. (Side note: As small business owners, we are fully in support of raising the FDIC insurance limit, and think it is long overdue. This is something they have been talking about for years. For many small businesses, ours included, it is darn near impossible to operate efficiently and keep your balances under $100K at all times.)

Thrift-o-rama asked how we were coping with all of the turmoil in the financial markets, and someone else asked what we are going to change. This is what I've done and what I am going to do (and whether I'm right or wrong, I really don't know, but I'm doing what feels right for us.)

- Over the weekend, spurred by the WaMu failure, I printed out two well-known poems that I like and they are sitting on my table so I can glance at them any time I need to. They help me stay focused. One is "If" by Rudyard Kipling, and the other is "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann. BTW, I know many people like the line in "If" about keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs, and I like that too, but actually my favorite part is "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the Earth and everything that's in it."

- On Monday I turned on the news as I was getting ready to make lunch. Saw the Dow plummeting. On top of 2 banks going under, it did feel overwhelming, and I'll admit I felt anxiety coursing through my body. I found myself thinking "OMG I hope the Dow doesn't drop below 10,000 ... no, it's not a logical response and 10,000 really is no different from 9,999 ... it's purely a psychological threshold ... but it goes to show that no matter how rational we try to be, sometimes irrational thoughts take over. I realized I still had work that needed to be done and I needed to focus. So ... and I admit this may sound silly ... I decided that instead of just throwing together a sandwich, I was going to make myself a nourishing lunch of brain food. I fixed a salmon patty and steamed spinach. That's right ... the Dow plummets and scfr steams spinach!

- Monday evening, after I had finished the work I needed to get done for DH, I popped a Netflix DVD in the player and watched one episode of the old BBC series "As Time Goes By." I love that series ... It never fails to make me laugh out loud. By that point, I REALLY needed a laugh, and it felt good.

- As far as our investments go, we're not changing a thing. Our portfolio was designed so that we could emotionally handle a serious market downturn. I did write a date on my calendar (in 2015) when I will revisit our asset allocation, and come up with a plan to GRADUALLY, year-by-year start moving out of stocks. At a certain age, I'd like to be 100% out of the stock market. (My thinking at this time is that age 65 would be good ... I do realize this is not necessarily a wise plan for everyone.) I feel for the senior citizens whose portfolios are taking a serious beating. I wonder how many of them still have the same asset allocation that they had when they were 40 or 45 or 50 ... and if it made sense for them back then and they just never changed it?

- As far as cutting back, we decided not to renew our just-expired subscription to the Austin Sunday paper (I get the WSJ Mon-Sat). Because we are moving away, we may have decided to let it go anyway, but the country's financial situation made the decion to save $2.44 a week that much easier. I clip a couple coupons in an average week, but do not save enough from them to justify the cost of the paper. Also, DH & I have been discussing our grocery budget and how we might trim it a bit. I am going to be presenting my plan to him when he returns from his business trip next week.

- I have some scrap gold (broken necklace, etc.) somewhere. I'm going to go ahead and sell it ... If I can find it.

- I'm going to vote. Nothing new here, but I do believe it's one of the most proactive things all of us can do to impact the course our country takes.

- We're moving whole-heartedly ahead with our plans to buy a house.

- And now for the more unconventional, and perhaps controversial, idea: When we open our next bank account (if we decide to bail on Chase or Citi for example), it will likely be with a bank that is owned by a non-USA company. For example, since we are moving to Cali, having an account with Union Bank of California makes sense. They are a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. If diversifying your stock portfolio internationally makes sense, then why not diversify your bank accounts as well? Y'all can call me crazy if you like, but as I said, we're doing what feels right to us.

Super Target's offering a pretty good deal. 4 Kashi items for $11, and you get a $5 Target gift card at the register. So that translates to $6 for 4 Kashi items, or $1.50 each. You can buy any combination of Kashi item: cereal (hot or cold), granola bars, cookies, crackers, or frozen entrees. I forgot to take note of how long this offer is going on (sorry).

I bought 2 boxes of Vive cereal (full retail $3.99 each) ... would have gone for a granola, but they were already sold out ... and 2 boxes of cookies (full retail $3.09 each) ... yum, yum.

NPR mentioned that today is the anniversary of the late Louis Armstrong's birth, so in his honor I am playing some of his CDs today.

I love jazz. I'm far from being an expert, but I do love the way it makes me feel. I tend to favor the classics ... Miles, Monk, Coltrane, etc.

To the extreme fan or the obsessive collector, my collection of CDs might seem like small potatoes, but I think it is great. I don't know if I've yet to spend $1,000 on CDs, but I'll bet it's close to that. I've been buying jazz CDs for almost 20 years. The pace of my acquisitions has slowed down considerably (the more I've collected, the less I "need"). The last CD I got was "Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall" which is not only a fabulous record but also of historical significance ... it was rediscovered in some files at the Library of Congress and released in 2005. Guess what the only thing I wanted for Christmas in 2005 was?

I buy my CDs new. I look for discounts, but I don't wait for them to hit the clearance bin.

I love to read books, but I get 99% of my books at the library. I like to watch movies, but I own only 7 (3 are the LOTR movies); I rent from Netflix, at the lowest subscription level. I like moderate exercise, and I get that from walking my dog (or once in a blue moon popping in a yoga DVD). I don't indulge all of my hobbies and interests in a way that costs a lot of money. But I have spent a fair amount on jazz CDs, and if another history-making release comes out or I discover a new artist I love, I will continue to buy ... with no apologies.

I can afford them, and they are well worth the cost for the amount of joy they bring me.

Especially for the younger folks (many of whom have joined the boards recently) I would like to stress that a frugal life does NOT equal a joyless life. The key is figuring out what it is that really brings you joy, and spending your money accordingly ... once you have determined that you can afford it, of course.

For each person, the joy will come from different sources. For Ima Saver, it's dinner out many nights with her husband and Corvettes. For disneysteve, it's the annual pilgrimage to Disney World with his family. For Broken Arrow (err...BA Lite) it's a karaoke box and a guitar. For one person it may be designer clothes. For another it may be gourmet foods or higher-end wines. Someone else may love to go to live concerts or plays. And so on and so on ...

What does NOT work in the long term (unless maybe you are in the super-high-income category) is saying to yourself: "Well, they go to Disney every year and drive a Corvette and wear designer clothes and have instruments and lots of CDs and eat gourmet food and drink expensive wine and go to the theater... so I want ALL of that too!" That's just about being driven by jealousy or competitiveness (aka "keeping up with the Jonses"). It will make you broke and it might not even bring you any joy.

I hope everyone reading this will be filled with joy AND have a secure financial future! I'm off to listen to some more Louis. Peace.

What Would Amber Do?

That was what I asked myself when I was driving home, tired and hungry after running errands. DH is on a long business trip so it's just me, and I wasn't in the mood to cook because I was hungry and just wanted food. I started hearing the siren song of the Whataburger drive-thru calling to me.

Then I started thinking about our friend Amber, and how she has done such a great job over-coming the eating out habit ... She's a real inspiration ... Hence the question I asked myself:

What would Amber do?

I don't actually know what Amber would have done, but thinking about her inspired me to go home and zap a Smart Ones frozen dinner (that I had bought on clearance at Super Target for $1.18) in the microwave. Saved myself a few dollars, and probably did my health some good as well.

Thank you Amber!

1. Fresh Produce: After cutting back some on fresh produce over the winter (and substituting with frozen stuff ... generally speaking much better nutritionally than canned), I really started missing it, and am so glad that it is now "in season" time and I can finally start finding deals on fresh again. I feel like DH & I are on a fresh fruit & veggie binge! On Saturday I went to a local farmer's market where I got a squash (a local variety whose name I forgot ... something like tatate), corn (is there anything better than fresh-picked), onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers (another local variety, name forgotten), and a huge grocery bag full of leaf lettuce. I spent $11, and felt it was worth every penny! Not only am I enjoying the flavors and nourishment, but becoming familiar with the local products is a way to learn about a place, so the farmer's market trip was part of my immersion in to life in my new state & town. (On a side note, whenever I travel I love to visit grocery stores. I always get a kick out of learning how people in different regions and countries eat at home. To me it's as fascinating as visiting a museum. And hey - it's free, so I guess that qualifies it as a frugal bit of sightseeing, doesn't it?)

I've also found moderately good deals on fresh fruits other than the old standbys of apples & bananas: $2 for a pint of blueberries, $2 for a container of raspberries (6 oz), and $1 for a whole pineapple (sale + coupon combination). I've been told I must buy Fredericksburg (TX) peaches as the season here comes early, but I've yet to do that ... I was disappointed when the farmer's market did not have any.

2. Grocery Shopping At Randall's: Here in Austin, the biggest grocery store chain is HEB. There is also Randall's, which is a bit more expensive but has very nice meats & produce and I've been told has the reputation for being a tad more "upscale." (We also have Whole Foods, which is headquartered here and is appropriately also know as Whole Paycheck ... for obviou$ reason$, I do not shop there.) I think Randall's is in some way a part of the Safeway family because they have the same private labels (such as Lucerne). Since it's a bit out of the way and more expensive, I had not shopped there. However, as new residents we received two coupons in the mail for $10 off if we spent $50 or more (pre-discount). So, off I went twice recently with my list & the store circular & coupons & a notebook where I kept a tally of all of my purchases as I shopped, because I did not want to go over $40 ($50 - $10). I succeeded; spent $41 both times. Both times, I got funny looks from the store managers, but both cashiers gave me "Atta Girl" type comments. The receipts said that I saved 51% and 53% respectively, but I thought that was a crock since the prices were a bit higher than the stores I would normally shop at (HEB, SuperTarget, and Costco), and since I always shop sales and use coupons. I felt like I truly saved 17-18% over what I would have spent elsewhere, and so it was worth the trip! Does anyone else think that some stores inflate their pricess so that they can trick consumers into thinking they are saving a ton of money when they look at a receipt that says "You saved 53%!"?

3. Bye-bye Sub-$100 Power Bills ... Hope to See You Again: Just got our power bill for May ... $98. Since we are in AC season (Texas has been in an early heat wave for the past couple weeks where every day is mid to high 90's), I know we can kiss power bills of less than $100 bye-bye until fall. We definitely used the AC during May, but will certainly be using it more in the months ahead. We really try to walk the line between comfort and frugality when it comes to the AC. We keep it at 80F during the day and move it up to 85F at night (because for some reason our bedroom stays a couple degrees cooler than the rest of the apartment). That may seem a tad warm to some of you, but we have ceiling fans that help and we're willing to live with feeling a bit warm and are just grateful to have AC at all. I am hoping to keep our power bill under $125 for June, and under $150 for July & August, but since this is our first year in Texas I really have no idea what the final numbers will be.

When I was fresh out of college, I "inherited" 2 cats. Not knowing any better, I started out feeding them an el-cheapo brand of food from the grocery store. Then one of them developed a bladder stone and had to have surgery. The vet thought the stone developed because of her diet, and so the el-cheapo brand went in the trash, and I started paying much more attention to the kitties diet and making smarter choices. Thankfully, they never again had a diet-related condition. I learned the hard way (through pain & suffering for my poor cat and a big hit to the wallet for me) that when it comes to pets diets, prevention is indeed the best medicine.

Kitties crossed the rainbow bridge many years ago, and shortly thereafter destiny brought a dog into my husband & my life.

Now definitely older and hopefully wiser, when buying food for our dog, I put the emphasis on buying the healthiest possible food, but of course I also try to buy it at the lowest possible price. I shop for "value" rather than "cheap." He eats twice a day ... 12 meals each week are dry food, but twice a week he gets a can of wet food as a treat and as a way to provide variety (and hopefully improved nutrition) to his diet. He gets one treat in the evening (his reward for "doing his business" and then letting me brush his teeth), but even those are the healthy variety. His weight is perfect, and it is my sincere hope that he will never have a medical condition that is because of poor diet (because that would be my fault).

So I'm feeling like a good doggy mommy / minder of the family finances today ... I had a successful shopping trip to the pet supply store.

The Haul:
12 Large Cans of Homestyle
6 Large Cans of Wellness
4-lb bag of dry Science Diet Nature's Best

These were the deals:
Homestyle: case discount (10%) plus $5 off coupon
Wellness: buy 3, get 3 free rebate
Nature's Best: Rebate for full purchase price
Total Order Discounts:
- $10 store certificate received in mail
- 10% store member discount (which was free)

Net Cost (once the rebates come in): $12.50 (plus tax) plus $0.84 to mail in 2 rebate coupons.

For those of you without dogs, the Homestyle and Wellness brands of canned food are premium brands that normally cost a bit over $2 a pop. The Nature's Best dry food retails for $11 a bag ... it's not my dog's usual brand ... I usually buy him Costco's Kirkland Signature brand which is MUCH less expensive but also very good quality IMHO ... but when it's free (well, actually 42-cents for a stamp to mail in the rebate), then why not?

The rebate coupons are in the mail already ... I learned years ago to mail them as soon as I get home from the store (otherwise I forget).

Gonna try to get caught up on a big list of things I have been wanting to blog about. Please pardon the long and varied "everything but the kitchen sink" type post.

1. "Journey to Balance Sheet Affluent" Update: Did my end-April Net Worth Statement while the guys were out golfing on Sunday, and updated my number there to the left. Obviously, I fell short of my first-year goal. Ironically, the main reason was a very good year last year income-wise, so when I plugged in our new average income, the goal (number to reach) jumped up. The reason for the bigger than expected 4th quarter drop was due to taxes owed on said earnings. Quarterly income and non-tax spending were fine. This led me to question whether or not this is still a realistic goal. For the time being, my answer is a qualified yes. I'll be posting my 2nd year (5/1/2008 - 4/30/2009) goals soon, and for the time being I am going to continue to pusue the goal of becoming "Balance Sheet Affluent" by the time my DH is 50; however, I am going to revisit this within the next year, and would not be surprised if I wind up dropping my goal to something like 1.8 instead of 2.0.

And for those of you who like to compare numbers, please let me remind you that I have set the bar extremely high for myself, which is necessary if DH's dream of trying out for the senior golf tour is to have a chance of becoming reality. If not for this dream, I would be happy with any number at 1.0 or higher.

2. Investments = Decided to Stay the Course: Thought I would be switching my STAR Fund to Vanguard Conservative Growth, but after studying that possibility I decided to leave things where they are. If I made the switch, I feel I would be under-invested in international stocks. And besides that, my STAR fund shares are where I give myself permission to be a tiny bit daring.

3. Work: My current work assignment ended today. My next work assignment begins ... day after tomorrow. Perfect. One day off and then back to work. Instead of paying bills & doing laundry tonight, I'll be curling up with a book and putting those chores off until tomorrow.

4. Groceries: YES, YES, YES ... prices ARE up! Here are 2 specific examples on prices of items that are consumed almost daily in our home:
- Bananas: Up from 33 to 44 cents per lb. That's a 33% increase!
- Rice: 20-lb bag up from $14 to $17. That's a 21% increase!

I think what is so "big" about the current price increases is that they are so across the board, rather than commodity specific. We're all used to seeing prices on certain items spike due to crop failures or seasonality. But when that happens, we just make substitutions, right? For example, in the past, if I had seen that bananas were up 11 cents per lb overnight, I would have looked at an alternate fruit. But guess what? Apples are also up, 20 cents per lb, and no other fruits come close to giving me the same bang for my buck. So, I buy bananas at the higher price.

I feel fortunate that even if my vigilance to "shop smart" is not enough to compensate for the increases, I am still able to absorb the price increases, and don't have to take exteme measures (such as giving up buying fresh fruit). I cannot believe that the increases are not affecting those less fortunate, and I am sympathetic.

One thing that I am doing to keep my own grocery bill down is teaching my husband some of my shopping techniques (for example: combine a sale w/ a coupon or skip buying that item this week) so that when he goes to the store the bill will be lower. Just recently, he used coupons for the very first time.

4. Speaking of Good Cheap Food: I recently discovered a great side dish ... Texas Caviar! No, it's nothing like Rocky Mountain Oysters ... It's a spicy black eyed pea salad. Nutritious and Delicious! Fantastic with BBQ or really as a side dish with anything. If it sounds like something you'd like to try, just Google it and you'll find recipes.

5. The Jonses House: Previously I blogged about "The Jonses" house in my old neighborhood that went in to foreclosure. After being foreclosed on, listed by the receivier for well under what was owed on the mortgage, and having a couple price drops, the house finally went under contract. I don't know the sale price, but given the latest list price it is very likely it sold for at or near the "lowball" price DH & I threw out about a year ago. This reinforced 2 things in my mind:
- We should continue to trust ourselves and our sense of where the market is.
- By all means look at buying & selling a house as a business transaction. Regardless of how you feel about it while you are living there, while you are buying and selling you are making an investment! Once the receiver took over, they approached the sale of the Jonses house in a very businesslike manner ... Pricing to market (no ego or emotion involved) and dropping the price as needed.

6. Interesting Retirement Tidbits: Saturday's Wall Street Journal published some very interesting survey results ... Definitely gave me some things to think about when considering retirement. Here are some of the items that gave me the most food for thought:

Q: What percentage of retirees say they left the work force earlier than planned?
A: 51%
My Thoughts: Wow! Sounds like it might be a good idea to chop a few years off of the age you enter as your expected retirement age when you run those calculators. For example, if you plan to retire at 65, plug in 60 or 62 to be safe.

Q: Surveyed adults ages 55 to 74 said they spend the greatest percentage of their leisure time doing which of the following? (choices were Socializing & Communicating, Watching TV, Reading, Relaxing & Thinking, Traveling)
A: Watching TV
My Thoughts: That is sad. Note to self = Make a plan pre-retirement for a life of meaningful activities!

　Q: What percentage of workers in the US say they or their spouses currently are saving for retirement?
A: 64%

Q: What percentage of workers age 55-plus report having $250,000 or more in savings and investments (not including primary residence or defined-benefit plan)?
A: 23%

Q: What percentage of US households are at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement?
A: 44%

My Thoughts on the Above 3: Wake up America!

I think the first rule of sensible spending is "know yourself." Do you like to change things up once in awhile, or are you happy wearing the same things until they wear out? Me ... I'm happy wearing the same things until they are no longer functional. So, I try to shop accordingly.

A watch & my glasses (and my wedding ring of course) are the only accessories I wear most days.

I have 2 watches --- The 2nd was a gift. 2 watches aren't necessary, but after I received the 2nd I realized it is nice to have both brown (Guess) & black (Seiko).

Anyway ... The older watch, the Guess brand, is I-don't-know-how-old ... I am guessing around 18 years. I just got the battery replaced ($10) and realized I have lost track of how many times I've replaced the battery or had the strap changed (because it broke or wore out).

Will most watches last forever, as long as you're just giving them normal wear and tear? Will the battery need to be changed more and more frequently as the watch gets older? Are watch batteries so standard that I can expect to always be able to find a replacement battery that fits my watch? Can I keep wearing these watches indefinitely?

How old is your watch?

I will be perfectly happy if I can keep wearing these same 2 watches until the day I die.

It's the same thing with my glasses. I get my prescription updated every few years, but I don't change the frames unless I have to. I have had to change the frame because either the frame broke (walked in to a bike rack sticking way out off of the back of a car and didn't see it - ouch) or I can no longer get lenses that fit the frames. Last time I bought new frames I narrowed it down to 2 frames, then asked the gals at Costco to help me choose. Knowing myself, I told them I'd like to update my look a bit, but not be too trendy because I would probably be wearing those same frames for at least 10 years, maybe more. They pointed out something about one of the frames that made it a bit trendy (was it the shape?), and that was all I needed to know to make up my mind. I bought the other pair.

New jobs always come with "issues" don't they? I hesitate to use the word "issues" in this case because it sounds so negative, when really I just have "things that need to be worked out."

1. Auto Deposit: Friday was my first payday for my new job. I signed up for auto deposit. No deposit yet. Probably just a glitch somewhere, something that I need to get worked out either with my bank or the payroll department. Glad I wasn't desperately waiting for that money to pay bills!

2. To Buy or Not to Buy a 2nd Car? DH just returned from a business trip, so tomorrow will be the start of my needing to get to work every weekday and us having only 1 car. Taking the bus is not an option (the nearest bus stop that goes to my office is 70% of the way to work, so no point in driving that far and not driving all the way in, and I haven't been able to find a carpool. [Parking is free BTW.] As far as I'm concerned, the pay for the job does not justify the cost of a 2nd car, not to mention the fact that it's temp work, so I don't want to buy a 2nd car just because of this job. The distance from home is so far that it doesn't make sense for DH to drive me every day. I've suggested that we try something like I drive myself 3 days a week, and 2 days a week DH drive me in & pick me up so that he can have the car for golf, errands, etc. We are probably just delaying the inevitable of buying a 2nd car eventually, but I do still want to delay it as long as possible. We'll see how it goes ... Hopefully being home without a car (and unable to go hit balls at the driving range) won't be too hard on DH.

3. Clothes = Not Want or Need but "Kinda Sorta Ought to Get"???: I think we need a word for something that is neither a want nor a need but something in-between. I could really use some new clothes for this new job. I have never been what you'd call a clothes horse ... sssh, it's a secret, but DH has always had at least twice as many clothes as me! For a long time I worked in the corporate world, then when I owned my own business the "dress code" (or lack of) was very very casual. Prior to our move, not knowing what would work in the new climate or what type of work I would be getting in to, I did things like let my one remaining pair of tennis shoes wear down to where there were holes in the bottom of the soles, then I just tossed them before we moved. [Didn't buy replacements as it would mean one more thing to move.] Now I'm working in a casual office environment, where the corporate suits don't work and the super casual clothes might not get me fired but probably wouldn't enhance my rep either. I do have enough clothes that fit in to the "in-between" world and work in this much warmer climate where I don't actually NEED to buy new clothes(I could keep wearing the same things over and over if I honestly did not have the money to buy anything new), and I don't like clothes shopping or spending money unnecessarily so I certainly don't WANT new clothes. However, it probably would be a good idea to buy a few more pieces so that I can have a bit more variety in my wardrobe, don't end up wearing the same things over & over, and don't have to panic if the laundry doesn't get done right on schedule. [Although this work is temporary, I should have recurring temp assignments in the same work environment.] I do have the money to buy clothes, and haven't bought any for such a long time, that there's really nothing to stop me other than my dislike for clothes shopping.

Well ... I went ahead and made a list of what I could buy that would add the most variety to my wardrobe, and I've come up with a shopping strategy (hit Goodwill first, then a consignment store where I'm going to sell some things as well as look for some new for myself, and finally the clearance rack at a couple retail stores). I'm going to try to find a day when I have enough time and energy to get everything I "need/want/???" in one day. Just get it over with!

Today is one of those days ... I have the time and energy ... But glory halleluiah many stores are closed because of Easter so I have a reprieve until at least next weekend!

DH is on a business trip, and had to lay over in Washington DC. [That was the only routing available to get the free ticket he wanted using his mileage.]

I had to practically NAG him to get him to go downtown and take in some of the sights. (I suggested he spend one extra day in DC, since he had to fly through there anyway, but he wouldn't hear of it.) He has never been there, and he is not a US citizen, so he didn't get what the big deal was, even after I showed him my pictures and brochures and tourist book souvenier and raved about it. I told him it's like The Louvre, Champs Elysee, Eiffel Tower, and Versailles all rolled in to one, only better! Since he only has this evening, I strongly encouraged him to take the Grayline nighttime bus tour so he could see as many sights as possible in a short time, even tho' it would mean buying a ticket and he would have had to take a cab back to his hotel from a Metro station. I told him "I know that will cost money, but I promise you that it is money you will never regret spending for as long as you live."

I'm happy to report that after much encouragement he finally decided he was willing to spend the money.

Unfortunately, the bus tour was sold out. But he did head downtown as soon as he checked in his bags. He rushed around seeing as much as he could (White House, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, etc --- unfortunately I don't think he saw any of the monuments) and ended up with blisters on his feet! He called me from the Air & Space Museum quite exhilarated, saying "I could stay just here for hours!" And he has decided that if his flight tomorrow is overbooked, he will volunteer to get bumped!

Hopefully if something like this ever comes up again, he'll listen to me a little sooner! I'm all for saving money (and I certainly would have asked for the AAA discount from Grayline), but goodness, when you have the opportunity to have such an enriching experience, if it causes no strain on the budget, just go ahead and spend the money already!

Are you surprised to hear me say that? Some people think I'm a total tightwad, but I disagree. I will squeeze a penny till it screams, but I also am willing to spend when I truly think it's worthwhile.

Great Brunch Out: Today DH & I went to Olive Garden for an early lunch; we both had the all-you-can eat soup/salad/breadsticks combo ($5.95). We had a $4 coupon, so the total with tax & tip for 2 of us came to $10.34 ... Not too bad for a tasty lunch with lots of veggies (tho the lettuce was iceberg), no dishes to wash, and a date with my favorite guy! We don't eat out a lot, so it's always a much-relished treat when we do! [And in case you're wondering, we combined our brunch out with running other errands, so there was very little gas expense.]

Broccoli: Oh I'm still smiling about this... It's been so long since I found a good deal on FRESH veggies! Super Target had a sale on broccoli, the cello-pack bunches for 2 / $3. I had a coupon that I had printed out on-line for $1 off, so I got 2 big bunches of broccoli for $2. Since they charge by the bunch instead of by the lb, of course I chose the heaviest bunches!

Staying Put: We decided to renew our lease, so we'll be staying put for awhile. We do think home prices will drop a bit more, we are completely contented where we are, and it's lovely having our costs so low, so why not wait?
I am kind of burned out on househunting, and am relieved that there is no reason to do any more of that until the fall, when we can get serious about looking (and then hopefully buying) again.

New Job: Forgot to mention that I got a job. It's intermittent full-time ... not contract work, but off & on temp assignments, challenging & enjoyable; I will likely stick with just this until we buy a house.

Chocolate fans - Time to go buy that Valentine's candy on clearance!

DH will be heading off to the store soon to buy 1/2-price gourmet chocolates. He buys the most generic-looking (un-Valentinesy) boxes he can find, and gives them to his customers when he travels overseas on business.

He usually buys a box for me too. And no, I don't mind one bit that it isn't presented on "the big day." In fact, I like knowing that he didn't pay full price. Society in general probably thinks we're unromantic, but I know you guys understand.

DH finished his on-line defensive driving course yesterday evening, then took the test and passed (w/ a fantastic 95% score ... pretty darn good in any circumstance, and really terrific considering the course was in English, his 2nd language). We immediately get a 10% discount on our auto insurance, good for the next 3 years. The course cost $20, and at the discount (based on our current premium) is $125 over 3 years, for a net savings of $105. It took him about 6 hours to complete the course, so that means he netted about $17.50 per hour of work ... Not too bad! Also, he seemed to really get in to taking the course and learned a lot ... He's not a bad driver, but if the course makes him even less likely to get in to an accident, then it definitely was worth the time! [When / if we purchase a 2nd car, I plan to take the course also.]

We filled our gas tank for the first time since getting our new tires at Costco. DH does a rough calculation of gas mileage each time he fills up (he uses the odometer to keep track of mileage between fillups) and he says our gas mileage improved from about 26 MPG to 28-29 MPG. Not sure if we can call the results of one fillup a trend, but I sure do hope it stays that high. I don't know if it's because we now have better (new) tires, or if it's because Costco fills their tires with Nitrogen ... I had never heard of filling tires with Nitrogen, but there was a brochure at the Costco Tire Center explaining how Nitrogen is supposed to improve handling & improve gas mileage. The tires on our car now have little green caps on them instead of black, which apparently is the symbol for nitrogen-filled. I can definitely say that the car handles better, tho' again I can't say whether that's because we now have new tires, they are filled with nitrogen, or both. I'm not a car person, so I can't offer an intelligent opinion on the "filling with nitrogen" issue, but would love to hear what others think. By the way, we didn't have to pay anything extra for the Nitrogen. That's just what our Costco Tire Center is using now.

I splurged this past week when grocery shopping. I bought a carton of Tropicana orange juice, and a bag of fresh baby spinach. Each was $2.99, and neither were on sale. [With the soaring cost of produce, we've been eating much more frozen lately, and buying fresh only when we find a "bargain."] They were both on my grocery list, so neither was an impulse buy but was a planned splurge. Hard to believe I spent that much, and hard to believe buying fresh produce that is not on sale is now considered a splurge! Funny times we live in, eh? They sure tasted GREAT, and they are good for us too ... DH & I both enjoyed every sip and bite...Yum!

Yesterday evening I got a chi-chi hairdo at a fancy salon for only the 2nd time in my life. The first time was about 30 years ago, when my mom took my badly-in-need-of-a-confidence-boost-adolescent-self to a nice salon for a Tony Tenille style cut. At all other times, I've either let a family member (mom, sister, husband) cut it, or have gone to an inexpensive chain salon. For the past many years I've just let my hair grow long, and then once in awhile I'd get some whacked off for free at one of the chain salons to send to Locks of Love. Thanks to good hair genetics, I only rarely get a grey hair, so I plan on continuing donating as long as I can.

I've been overdue for a cut, but hadn't had any luck finding a place that would cut my hair for free. I was thinking about letting DH just cut it and mailing the hair off myself. But as luck would have it, my proscratination paid off and I found out that a fancy-schmancy salon here in Austin was giving free haircuts for Locks of Love donors! I went in yesterday and told the very nice young man who cut my hair that he could do anything he wanted with my hair as long as it was age-appropriate, that could be "wash & go" (no styling or product required), and that he left me enough so that it will be long enough to put up in a pony tail when the weather gets hot. I got a nice shampoo, conditioning treatment, cut that took what seemd to me a really long time (much longer than the usual 5 or 6 snips I'm used to), and professional styling with blowdrying. For me, all of this was a real luxury!!! [I know some people treat themselves to something like this often, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but for me things are much more special & appreciated when they only an occasional thing ... As in once every 30 years!]

What I thought was really cool was that my hair is thick enough the stylist decided he could do 2 ponytails, which means that the hair cut yesterday will make hairpieces for two kids. And he was able to cut off a whopping 14-1/2 inches. Yes - Proscrastination does pay sometimes, and not only for me!

Of course, I tipped the nice young man generously ($5 --- I hope that's generous --- Come to think of it I don't know what the going rate is!) since he did such a nice job. And I had to drive to the salon, but it was right by Costco so I made up a list before I went and did a Costco run to make the trip more cost-effective. All in all, I'd say it was money well spent.

Oh ... In case you're wondering what the new 'do looks like, think Diane Keaton without the highlights when she uses less styling product:



And do I plan to keep getting my hair cut at fancy salons? Naw ... Not unless I can get another free cut. But it sure was fun.

Since I don't have kids, I've never caught the scrapbooking bug. I've thought it would be fun to do a small scrapbook of my dog, but didn't want to: 1) put the effort in to learning how to scrapbook, and 2) invest in all of the tools and cute doodads that seem to be required to scrapbook well.

Now, Costco Online is offering a "complete" kit for making a small dog scrapbook for $12.99 including shipping & handling. That seems like a very reasonable price to pay if that's really all I'll need. However, I'm skeptical that the kit is really all I will need, so before I spend my money I'd be grateful if any of you experienced scrapbookers could tell me:

1. The kit includes brads & charms. Will I need special tools to use those?

2. If I get the kit and check out a couple books on scrapbooking from the library, will I have what I need to make a fairly decent looking scrapbook? Or, is this something that takes classes and lots of experience to master?

Thanks!!!

Monday I'll be joining the hoardes at the Post Office, getting my holiday gifts mailed off. Today I got my gifts wrapped. I've been done with my shopping for awhile, but I waited to get the gifts wrapped until today. A dog rescue organization was doing gift wrapping as a fund-raiser at a nearby store, and I decided to take the 2 gifts that needed to be wrapped in there. I've always done my own wrapping, but I sold my wrapping paper at our pre-move garage sale and am waiting to buy any new until we are out of our tiny apartment and in to a house. I gave them 2 dollars ($1 per gift seemed to be the going rate), and that included gift tag & bow. Sure, I could have bought the wrapping supplies for the same or cheaper, but I'm avoiding purchasing anything other than essentials until we have a house, and it was an organization I was more than happy to support.

So, my holiday shopping & wrapping is done. Yea! I spent $175 on gifts this year, $2 on wrapping, plus whatever I spend on postage.

Within my family we have mutually agreed to really limit our gift-giving.

1. DH & I have no children. This is of course the biggest reason why our holiday spending is so low.

2. DH & I don't exchange gifts with each other. Back when we were saving for a house, we decided to save more for the down payment instead of buying gifts. We realized we weren't missing anything, and not exchanging gifts has become a tradition. [Today I was talking with a couple that has been married for 30+ years about holiday gifts. They also don't exchange. The man said that their present to each other is that they are PRESENT for each other. I loved that.]

3. My sisters & I decided several years back that we would stop exchanging gifts, except from time to time if we found something we thought the other(s) would really love. But there is no keeping score, and no "obligation" to give.

4. When my sisters & I had the "let's stop gifting" discussion, we also discussed with our mom. She said that it means a lot to her to buy us gifts, so she continues to give us a gift each year (but she usually spends much less than what she used to). But she said that since she doesn't need anything, there's no need to buy anything for her. I do buy her a gift about once every 2 years (and that includes birthdays and mother's day, so not much gift-buying for her). I only buy when I find something that I think she will REALLY love and use.

5. My younger brother is DD, and he gets a real kick out of exchanging gifts. So, we all buy gifts (both Chirstmas and birthday) for him every year.

6. I have a young niece and nephew here in the USA. They get gifts... of course! My sister has specifically requested donations to their college funds, and I am tickled to honor her request. [My overseas niece and nephew get gifts too, but not at Christmas.]

So, here is a rundown of the gifts I'm giving this year:

- Brother joined me on my recent trip to DC. We agreed to skip birthday & Christmas presents this year, and make the trip together our gift to each other.

- My mom did get a gift this year, a 2-lb basket of assorted organic gourmet mushrooms, ordered through Costco for $45 including shipping. Mom has a major mushroom obsession, so when I saw this gift I knew it would make her very happy. And it did --- She called me all excited right after it arrived!

- Older sister is getting a handmade bracelet, purchased at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in DC for $21. Sis loves African jewelry, and she will appreciate that it was made by a South African group that allows woman to make jewelry while staying home with their children. This will be a surprise for her, since I usually don't buy her anything. She wanted to go to DC, but decided to stay home and fund her EF instead. (I have written in the past about her messed-up finances.) I was really proud of her decision, and thought a little gift from DC would be a way to show my support.

- Niece & nephew are getting $50 each for their college funds. I also purchased a gift for their whole family to share (and so they'd have something to unwrap), a book that I purchased new through Ebay for 35% of retail, including shipping.

And that's it! Some mushrooms, a bracelet, a book, a check, and happy memories of a shared vacation. No shopping frenzy, no spending hangover, no credit card interest, no hit to the net worth. And no unwanted gifts that end up collecting dust or getting tossed or donated.

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!