Credit cards' days seem to be numbered ...
How will consumers pay in the future?

Will we go back to writing checks? If so, maybe I should buy stock in Deluxe or Current!

I'll bet, tho, that some new form of payment will emerge ... Wish I could be the one to invent it!

(Sorry I've not been around. Thanks for checking in Lux. Very busy getting ready for waves of houseguests ... has involved a fair amount of spending on pillows, air mattresses, etc.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870447150457444...

Financial Integrity, scfr style ...

Started my own little personal boycott.
No more Miramax Films movies for me. I'm also boycotting the films of the directors mentioned in this article, and will boycott the films of any other directors who sign this petition as I learn about them. I just went through my Netflix Queue and hit the delete button as needed.
I know my boycott won't matter one little bit to these guys (I get DVDs from the library & my 2-a-month Netflix subscription and I go to the movie theater only once or twice a year), but if I am to spend my money in a way that is consistent with my values, I can't allow a single penny of mine to go to them.

Since when is raping a 13 year old child excusable? When I think of myself at 13 (the farthest I had "gone" with a boy was holding hands while skating around the roller rink) it makes me feel ill to think about what that poor child endured. That anyone would come to Polanski's defense by minimizing the seriousness of the crimes and suggesting that he be given a pass because he is an "artiste" is just disturbing.

Why am I not boycotting the actors and anyone else who signs the petition? Well, with all due respect to any actors who might read this, I accept that some people are more naive and swayed by what others around them are doing. But these directors are SMART GUYS ... They should know better!

I have not yet decided how long my boycott will last. Ideally it will be for as long as Polanski's jail term would have been had he not slithered away on his belly.

P.S. - Maybe I'll replace the movies I deleted with Chris Rock films:
http://www.wgem.com/Global/story.asp?S=11258100

Yesterday I got my eyes examined & ordered 2 new pairs of glasses. I got the 2nd pair for when I'm using the computer. It has been suggested in the past that I get a 2nd pair, but this go round the eye doc just flatout said that I need a 2nd pair and explained that my focusing muscles are getting weaker (probably due to a combination of getting older plus my current job involves heavy computer use of things that are often hard to read). This doc just does exams and writes prescriptions (which he wrote out for 2 pair); he does not sell glasses, so does not have a financial incentive to get me to buy 2 pair.

This was my first exam and new glasses since we opened our HSA.

I paid for the exam & the glasses with my HSA. Checked the IRS regs (Pub 502 which defines reasonable medical expenses for deductions and that covers what can be paid for using an HSA) and as is often the case, the rules are open to interpretation.

This is what it says about eyeglasses:
"You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for
eyeglasses and contact lenses needed for medical reasons.
You can also include fees paid for eye examinations."

So, it's very clear that the eye exam could be paid for with the HSA. But the glasses? What exactly do they mean when they say "needed for medical reasons"? Are they just trying to exclude contacts that people wear purely for cosmetic purposes? Or is their a higher standard?

I'm extremely nearsighted with astigmatism. I know that if I don't wear bifocals my eyesight will continue to get worse. I know that without my glasses I cannot drive a car, nor move around much without the risk of serious injury. (My own hand does not come in to complete focus until it is 4 inches from my face. So without my glasses I would be tripping over or running in to things and injuring myself.) Does this qualify as "medical reasons"? I certainly think so. But would an IRS audtitor agree? If they asked if my glasses were medically necessary, I suppose I'd just ask them to try mine on and tell me what THEY think.

Today DH & I had a consultation with an attorney who specializes in estate plans. Tho it's been almost 2 years since we moved to Texas, I wanted to wait until after we had purchased a house to re-do our estate documents. DH is a bit flabbergasted at the cost (we really should go for a trust this time instead of a simple and less expensive will) and may need a bit of time to get used to the idea of the cost before we proceed. But I really don't want us to delay too long ... Such an important part of our overall financial plan.

Yesterday morning, while I was running the good ol' Epi Slim over my face (those of you who will recall my angst about a facial waxing may be interested to learn I have adopted a DIY approach), I started thinking about the upcoming lawyer appointment.

Thoughts started to wander: estate planning ... facial hair removal ... I sure am getting older! The instant that thought started to turn into a whine, my thoughts jumped to my friend from college, SB.

SB turned 21 over winter break of his junior year. He went out drinking to celebrate, crashed his car and died.

Hard to believe that was over half a lifetime ago.

Hard to believe it's already been 8 years since 9/11/01.

I will take getting older and all that comes along with it thankfully.

For all the parents, homeschoolers, teachers, and adults who like to color, this is a pretty cool site:

http://www.coloringcastle.com/

(I discovered it when putting together "informational packets" for our 7 relatives who will be visiting from overseas. I wanted simple & clear maps of the USA & Texas, so they could get a sense of where Austin is. The maps on this site fit the bill exactly.)

I've mentioned that my in-laws were planning to come for a visit. FIL just got the go-ahead from his doctor, so it's official, they are coming in November.

I think I mentioned that a few aunties & uncles decided to tag along, so we were expecting a group of 4-5.

Last night DH told me that another couple relatives decided to tag along as well, so now we're up to 6-7 visitors ... for 3 weeks!

The good news? This will be FUN! The more the merrier. I am so glad that they are seizing the day and making the trip. This will be the last trip overseas for FIL, and the other relatives would never come alone, so I think they realized that it's now or never. These are all senior citizens, and for several of them it will be their first (and quite possibly last) trip out of their country.

The bad news? I am not equipped for a household of 9 adults. I am going to have to buy things I had not planned on buying, such as another air mattress, bedding, towels, slippers, eating utensils, etc. And renting a passenger van is the only option with that many people and all of their luggage and only 1 driver (DH while I'm at work) ... that's not cheap (I called several places today to get an idea of price ... we're talking $2K plus tax not to mention the gas). I had budgeted $4K for this visit (DH will be visiting various cities around the country with them so we will have those expenses in addition to housing & feeding & transporting), but clearly that is not going to be enough.

You'd better believe I will be keeping an eye out starting now for bargains and stocking up on "essentials" such as TP, etc. If we're going to be spending over $2K just on transportation alone, we better save a couple bucks anywhere we can.

While the thought of having 7 international visitors staying in my house on top of working is a bit overwhelming, I must remind myself that the most important thing is to give these family members a wonderful stay that will provide them with happy memories for the rest of their lives.

Breathe ... plan ... breathe ... plan ... breathe ... work the plan ...

It fell to earth, and I DO know where!
(Apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

5 years ago DH wanted to source some new product for his business. I researched companies and recommended he buy from "Company XYZ" (which he did, and he still does business with them). 3 years ago "Company XYZ" sales rep "Mr. Jones" flew to Seattle for a meeting with my husband. On his return flight, "Mr. Jones" met flight attendant "Ms. Smith."

Today we received a very special piece of mail:

"The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage of 'Ms. Smith' and 'Mr. Jones' ... "

Tho' we had no way of knowing it at the time, it looks like Cupid lent one of his arrows to DH & I.

My "workouts" this weekend included...

1. Watering my little veggie garden
2. Giving my dog a bath
3. Walks with above-mentioned clean dog
4. A bit of routine housework and laundry
5. Cleaning out all the window tracks (The grimy parts that are under the bottoms of the windows ... they are partially exposed to the outside & get filthy ... you have to lift the windows to clean them. I don't know if "tracks" is the proper name or not.) Gosh - we have a LOT of windows!
6. Sanding & painting 2 old dressers (this included carrying them out to the garage, and moving a bunch of bricks around that I used to anchor the newspaper I used to protect the garage floor. That was followed by over 3 hours hours of bending & squatting & scrubbing & rollering & brushing. Carrying them back in to the house, re-stacking the bricks, and cleaning up will be my "workout" in a couple days (I will let them dry much longer than necessary before I dare to put them back on the carpet.)

Who needs the gym when you have a house, a yard, and a dog?

When I was in my 20's, I would have done the above and then gone out dancing! But now ... well, I'll admit I'm tired & sore (it was re-furbing the dressers that did it) and I think I'll just crash on the couch this evening with a movie (I have "Wall-E" from Netflix).

When I went in to close my account at Chase, the staffer (I think she was a manager) asked why, and I replied that it was because of the rate I was earning. She asked me "did you find a better rate at a Credit Union?" Hmm...interesting. Thought I'd share for anyone who has yet to jump on the CU bandwagon.

And just for the record, yes, we moved some of the funds to a CD at a CU, but some went to an MMA at a regular old bank that is paying WAAAAAY more than Chase.

I remember reading comments (probably in WSJ articles) from both Wells Fargo and Chase executives that one of the reasons they took over Wachovia and Wamu respectively was because of their large number of deposit customers. I had accounts with both banks, but when interest rates plummeted post-merger, I closed my accounts and moved on. I wonder how those high-paid executives thought they were going to keep those deposit customers if they didn't keep paying higher than average interest rates? Do they not understand the correlation? Do they think we are idiots who do not check what rate we are earning and comparison shop?

I "Chased what matter" (earnings) all the way to other financial institutions. How about the rest of you former WaMu folks?

All my containers are planted.

Previously Planted:
Green Onions
Romaine Mix

Planted Today:
- Basil
- Chives
- Okra (Clemson Spineless, the type used in gumbo, not a vine ... thanks for the clarification Joan.of.the.Arch ... In my mind I was thinking "vine" because I need to figure out if they are going to need supports of some type)
- Rainbow Chard (wanted to do tomatoes but as I learned and others here pointed out they don't go in fall gardens even here in hot Texas ... Also I'm curious to see how it grows here vs in the Pacific NW, and if it's as easy to grow as it was when I was in WA I'll be guaranteed success with at least one item.)

If the okra grows well, we'll probably have way more of that than we can consume, but I know it will freeze VERY nicely. The Basil, if it's prolific, I can make pesto & freeze. The other items I limited to quantities that I think we can consume as we go.

I used only about 1/3 of each seed packet. I'm thinking I can do a 2nd planting very early spring (Feb or so), and a 3rd next fall. All packets are stamped sell by 11/10. The basil says "annual" so I'll either add another container or give the rest away ... I'll see how much my one little container produces.

We're in to Stage 2 (out of 3) watering restrictions effective tomorrow due to the drought here. We can use our sprinklers only once per week. Since our landscaping is new, we will need to hand water the bushes once a week and the trees once or twice a week so they don't die, and we'll need to make sure all the vegetation around the foundation also gets hand-watered once a week to prevent foundation cracks. That's the most important thing! We can replace a dead plant, but we can't grow a new foundation! (Hand-watering is allowed as long as it's done by 10am.) The grass? It's gonna go brown, but it should come back.

A couple weeks ago I did an entry called "Kitchen Garden Dreaming":

http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2009/08/02/kitchen-garden-dream...

Welcome to the new Kitchen Garden Part 2: Grounded In Reality.

Dreaming is great. That's the phase of any plan when you can let your imagine run wild and ... really THINK BIG. But sooner or later (hopefully) reality sinks in and you make decisions that are, tho inspired by the dream, based on what is practical. (For example, when I was furniture shopping, I did allow myself flights of fancy, looking at $4K dining room sets and ostrich leather Williams-Sonoma beds ... yes, really ... It helped me crystalize in my mind what I wanted ... but eventually I came down to earth and bought pieces that would allow me to furnish an entire house attractively for less than what one of the dreamy pieces of furniture would have cost.)

So, in order to avoid having to get permission from the HOA (which would slow down the process and probably mean not being able to start a garden this fall), to GREATLY reduce startup costs, to eliminate worry about how our automatic sprinkler system would fit with a veggie garden, and to take in to account that fact that I am still a newbie gardener and don't know how successful I am going to be, I have decided to go for a modified container garden.

Yesterday I got a large & attractive container on clearance at Lowe's. This morning I planted green onions & a romaine mix in it. I also plan to repurpose 3 plastic black industrial-looking trash cans by having DH drill holes in the bottom and bury them half-way underground (camoflauged from the street by some taller bushes) and I will plant 2 tomatoe & 1 okra vine in those. In addition to keeping weeds at bay, I'm hoping the containers will be tall enough to keep the rabbits out of them and (with sufficient supervision from us) keep the dog from doing his business on the plants we plan to eat from! If for some reason the HOA objects (which I don't think they will because I am really trying to make things attractive/hidden/blended with the rest of the landscaping) I can easily move the containers. And if I fail miserably, I will not have invested a lot of money in this project. (I'll give you a total once the tomatoe & okra plants are in the ground.) Also, the "pretty" container I bought can easily be repurposed for flowers.

Somewhere on-line I read about an article in a Japanese magazine that taught how to start growing Daikon in bags, and I've asked DH to ask one of his friends in Japan who is an avid gardener if he can tell us how to do that.

I'll probably add a couple little containers of fresh herbs on the front steps ... not only consumable, but will provide a nice fragrance when people come to the door.

If I succeed with my modified and greatly scaled-back plan, I'll probably add a few more containers and scatter them in with the rest of the landscaping. And if I prove to have a green thumb and decide it's worth the cost and effort ... who knows ... the full-blown kitchen garden dream may still some day become reality.

1. First Credit Union Account: For the first time, we opened an account with a credit union. Our MMA at WaMu/Chase had been earning bonus interest (put in place right around the time of the Chase takeover) but that rate expired and since the Chase interest rates just suck, it was time to go rate shopping yet again. The WaMu bonus rate expired last Saturday and the new account was opened on Monday. (Even with rates overall being so unattractive, I still consider getting the best rates I can one of my top financial jobs.) We ended up getting a 6-month CD. We had not opened an account at a credit union before for 2 reason: 1) terms not attractive enough (until now) & 2) concerns about safety. I learned awhile back that accounts at credit unions were as safe as accounts at banks, but I wasn't as sure of it as I needed to be to convince DH. I studied up on it some more, and was sure enough of the safety of funds at CUs that I was able to make a convincing argument to my husband.

2. Speaking of WaMu/Chase: I still have my WaMu/Chase account only because my paycheck AD is deposited there, and my Half.com account is linked there. I'm changing my Half.com account to another bank this week, and after my next AD hits on Friday I'll be closing that account. I will be sorry to lose my relationship with WaMu, but honestly it has been a long slow fade that began when Chase took over. As the ad says "Chase what matters" ... and that is what I am doing by moving my money out.

3. Major Economic Stimulation: We had accumulated a couple pieces of furniture for our new house, but yesterday was THE BIG shopping day. We have been looking at furniture off & on for the past 3-1/2 months, but for the past several days that has been a major focus of my efforts ... visited a warehouse sale, visited a resale shop, and visited a couple regular retail shops I had not yet been to. I was also purusing Craigslist & Ebay quite a bit. Found a couple interesting items on Craiglsit, but the sellers did not reply so assume the pieces had already sold. Ended up ordering everything on-line, some from Costco & some from Amazon. We ordered 2 office desks (one for DH & one for me ... DH's is more of an "office suite" with storage and mine is more like a big writing table with a couple drawers), one office/recliner type chair for DH, a dining table & 4 chairs (we will pull in odd chairs when we have more than 4 people at the table ... it will seat 6 comfortably and we would very rarely have more than 6), mattress & boxspring (for us ... the one we are using now is going to the guest room), 2 headboards (considerably less expensive than buying a whole bed frame, and DH feels strongly that a bed needs more than just a mattress on a steel frame which is something I'm fine with) and .... Lord have mercy ... that big ol' TV DH has been waiting & waiting for. Nothing brings spouses differences in priorities in to sharper focus than furniture shopping! (Example: Why on earth would anyone want to spend more on a lousy TV than you would on a good mattress set or dining room set? LOL) I'm happy to report that after much-much-much discussion and compromising, and not one bit of ugliness, we are still happily married and now we have thoroughly done our part to stimulate the economy. (Quick! Buy shares of UPS!) But seriously, our first round of house guests arrive in about 2 months, and I feel so much better knowing that they will have a place to sleep other than the floor, and that we'll all be able to sit down at table together to dine. (Oh yea, and the guys can watch the game on the huge TV ... hohum.)

4. Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide: I picked this little treasure up at Costco for $10. I knew this was the book for me when I read the review for Fonda San Miguel, the fancy restaurant I had been dying to go to and squirrelled some gift money away for. Basically, the review in Fearless Critic said, yes, the food is very good, but it's way over-priced ... And I agree 100%! Could have saved the money if I had read this book before going! Anyway ... I've been purusing this book looking for places to try and to take our endless stream of houseguests who will be descending soon. On Friday, DH & I went to Quality Seafood (in North Central Austin). Oh ... yea! Awesome place; best seafood we've had since moving here. We decided to splurge a bit and our final bill came to $30 ... but when you consider what we got, it really was a good deal. We started out with a dozen oysters on the half shell (that was the splurge and added $10 to the bill) ... They were huge gulf coast oysters that we had never had before (nothing like Pacific Northwest oysters) ... 100% fresh & delicious. Then I had a bowl of gumbo (chock full of scallops, shrimp, and fish) and DH had the blue plate special (marlin in whiskey BBQ sauce, cornbread, and choice of 2 sides ... he took cole slaw and fried okra that was divine). We left with big smiles on our face feeling the "splurge" was well worth it! For anyone in Austin who has not tried Quality Seafood, I highly recommend it. A more frugal food choice would be one of the Po' Boy sandwich combos, which I believe run $7. The next restaurants on our list to try are a Chinese place and a Korean place that are both tucked in the back of grocery stores ... not so high on atmosphere, but great food at cheap prices. For anyone interested in The Fearless Critic, at this time they are only available for Washington DC, Austin, New Haven, and Houston.

5. Dallas Doggies: The organization I volunteer with is gearing up to take in some of the doggies from the Dallas puppy mill case (over 500 dogs seized in a raid from deplorable conditions, the largest case ever in Texas history). There are still some legal issues to be worked out but the Humane Society has already put out the call to see which rescues in the area can take dogs once they are allowed by the court to start transferring them. Of course we said yes. We'll be taking around 10 to start with ... they will be cared for and nurtured until they are well enough & socialized enough (and old enough to be spayed or neutered of course) to be adopted out. When you stop to think about it, 10 dogs is only 2% of the total number and therefore just a drop in the bucket ... mind-boggling. As always, I am thankful that my financial house is in order and I have a supportive husband so I am able to dedicate so much time & energy to this work.

In 2007 I tried my hand at a bit of vegetable gardening for the first time for the SA $20 Challenge. I was in a rental house, so I could only do "container" gardening (the containers were anything free I could scrounge up like plastic buckets from Freecycle and no-longer-in-use recycling bins).

Now that I'm in a house I own, I think I may plant an honest-to-goodness kitchen garden. I knew that here in Texas you can plant both fall gardens and spring gardens. The idea of a fall garden is more appealing than a spring garden, both because of the temperature in the fall and because my work schedule is lighter. I thought I had plenty of time still to plan a "fall garden" but today when I was re\searching on the net (Texas A&M web site has a wealth of info and Gardener's Supply has some pretty nifty stuff too including an interactive plan-your-own garden tool) I learned that fall garden veggies are planted as early as 16 weeks before the first expected frost which is Dec. 1. That means if I'm going to plant a fall garden I need to get cracking!

Here's my to-do list:
- Check HOA rules. See if I have to submit a plan for approval, and if so does that mean I won't be in time to plant a fall garden?
- Figure out where to put the garden.
- Figure out if we'll need to do anything special with the sprinkler system, such as shutting off one or more of the sprinkler heads? (A sprinkler system was not something I had to deal with in 2007.)
- Decide what to plant (I know I want to plant green onions, daikon, okra, tomatoes, and lettuce. Beyond that I have lots of ideas but am not sure.
- Plan the garden, and make a list of necessary supplies.
- Get supplies.
- Get starter plants and/or seeds. I think I'll use starter plants this time as much as I can, since I'd like to have more variety and less of each item than I had in 2007 when everything was started from seed.
- Plant the garden, tend it, and hopefully harvest the fruits of my labor.

For anyone interested, here's a link to the Gardener's Supply site:
http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Garden-Planner/kgp_home,def...

Yesterday at work, right after lunch break, someone came in and announced that there was a car in the parking lot that had a flat tire. They gave a description of the car. It was the same make, model & color as mine. They gave the license plate number (but I don't know what mine is). Between the time of the announcement and afternoon break, when I could go out to check my car, while trying to concentrate on my work as much as I could, I was also mentally formulating strategies to deal with what I felt certain was a flat tire on MY car. I knew I'd be able do deal with it (I belong to AAA, and there are several repair shops not too far from where I work), but what bothered me was the realization that I had not checked the air pressure in my spare tire for 1-1/2 years. I know exactly when it was, because we checked it right before beginning the long-distance drive from Seattle to Austin. Pretty bad for a woman who likes to tout herself as a "preventative maintenance gal," right?

Fortunately, it wasn't my car that had the flat (whew).

This morning, DH is off filling up the gas tank and checking the air pressure on the spare tire!

Nothing like a close call to jolt you in to action, right?

So, guys ... Given the current state of the economy, doesn't this seem like an excellent time to ask ourselves how the air pressure is in our FINANCIAL spare tires? If we haven't lost our jobs or had our hours shaved, we almost certainly have friends or family members who have. And if we don't personally know someone who has lost their home to foreclosure, we certainly know people who have or are aware of homes in our neighborhood that have been foreclosed on. Even if we ourselves haven't had our retirement plans negatively altered (yet), we probably know someone who has.

- How's the emergency fund?
- How's the retirement savings balance?
- If you are of a "certain age," do you have a plan to adjust the makeup of your retirement savings as you approach retirement age? (This is the aspect of the financial spare tire that I've been motivated to work on due to the recent troubles. I'm happy to report that the EF and retirement savings are both in good shape, and folks who used to mock me for my frugal ways no longer do.)
- What else makes up a fully-inflated financial spare tire?

My grandparents were children of the Great Depression, and you had better believe that they always kept their financial spare tire fully inflated.
May we all be as wise as they were and learn from watching what is happening to folks around us. I think that the young people of today who are willing to observe, learn, and apply what they have learned are going to have very secure financial futures.

Who is coping well with setbacks, and why are they able to do so? Who is able to take a job loss in stride, and who ends up running their financial car off in to the ditch? What can we learn from them, and how can we apply it to our own lives?

And then once we have learned and developed a plan, what action do we take? While learning and planning are very important, they are not what is going to make our lives better ... taking action is.

As Ralph Ellison wrote in the book Invisible Man:
Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labelled "file & forget."

This is something I need reminding of from time to time. I just put a note to myself on my calendar to check my car's spare tire air pressure in 6 months.

My federal tax refund hit my account yesterday. Right on time. I used Turbo Tax (through Vanguard, $48.70 for Home & Business edition), e-filed, and requested that our refund be direct deposited to our account. After filing we got a "expected to receive by" date and that date was yesterday ... so our refund arrived exactly as expected. Very nice. I remember the day when you used to mail in your return and wait and wait and wait for a check, with no clue when it would arrive. Things have certainly improved a lot.

For anyone wondering why we got a refund (aka an interest-free loan to the US government), well, we are self-employed, so we have to make estimated tax payments based on our previous year's income. Income down last year = lower taxes = refund. So, the refund isn't anything to celebrate for a couple of reasons, but I will cheer the US Treasury for it's much improved efficiency in processing refunds.

For any Vanguard customers who haven't filed yet, here's the link to filing using Turbo Tax through Vanguard:

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/planningeducation/taxcenter...

Still around ... just been busy. (I did, however, take some time off Tuesday morning to pop some microwave popcorn and watch the Inauguration festivities, then spent more time than I care to admit talking on the phone to family members.)

Quickie updates on a far-flung variety of things follow.

1. Broccoli Sprouts: We've chowed down 2 batches of home-grown broccoli sprouts now. Yummy! The 3rd batch of seeds is soaking and will go in to the sprouting trays this evening. Buying the trays & seeds was definitely a worthwhile investment. Thanks again to fern (Wild Blue Yonder) and baselle for the tips.

2. Homemade Hair Gel: Did my last ever Locks of Love hair donation. (Last ever because grey hairs are starting to sprout.) Went for a somewhat short and really layered cut, which is something I haven't had for ages. Also for the first time in ages, I now need "product" to style my hair so I decided to try homemade hair gel. Been using it for about 1-1/2 weeks now, and it is working great for me.
Recipe = 1/2 tsp plain gelatin mixed with 1/2 cup warm water (store in fridge for up to one week). I'm using one of those inexpensive plastic condiment squirters. It's not a very pleasant sensory experience applying it (no perfumes added, and it comes out a bit cold & lumpy), but once it's been scrunched in to my hair I can't tell the difference between it and store-bought. It does its job well, is dirt cheap, and requires very little disposable packaging (just the gelatin envelopes), so I'm very happy with this experiment in frugality and will keep using homemade gel.

3. DH's First TX Franchise Tax Report: Been working on this. Since it's the first time to file in TX, there are new laws to learn and new forms to get familiar with, so lots of mind-numbing reading and head-scratching going on. In a masochistic sort of way, I kind of enjoy doing something like this. I know it's good for my brain to have to work at mastering something new and challenging.
Looks like I'll need to finish our Federal return first ... still waiting on forms to come in, and I know Treasury Direct will probably come in just under the wire (as usual), so that will make the schedule tighter than I would like. I need to have the state filing done by Feb. 19th at the latest. I know it can be done, I just don't like the idea of cutting important things like that so close to the deadline.

4. House Hunt: It continues. We got to the precipice of making a lowball offer on the house we both really like and DH got cold feet. It's the recurring "Austin vs. San Diego" quandry. Hopefully this question will be resolved sometime in the decade or so.

5. New Business?: I'm trying to get a new little (still confidential) side business up & running. Unlike my last business, this will be something I could move with me to another location. I'm still continuing my temp work, but I don't want to wait around any longer to figure out where we're going to settle to decide what I'm going to do career-wise. So I've been mentally toying around with various ideas for going the self-employed route again. Finally hit on one that appeals to me and passes the "husband litmus test." Not sure if it's going to fly, because when I approached the "banker" (DH) with my "business plan" (notes on paper), the result of our conversation was his blessing to go ahead and long as I promised not to lose any money. So, while I've expended time & effort, I've not spent any money yet. Worst case scenario, it will end up as a "learning experience."

6. Brokerage Account! The gal who swore she wasn't interested in buying individual stocks (me) has opened a brokerage account. Gotta keep an open mind and change with the times, right? There are some real bargains out there ... why would we want to miss a great opportunity? The little bit of money in the brokerage is just "casino money." In typical chicken fashion, we've yet to make a single trade.

7. Geithner - Blech: Following up on my rant http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2009/01/14/geithner-rant-or-am-...... it looks like the strategy of waiting to move ahead with his nomination until the post-inauguration-glow-period worked. Looks like the dude will become top dog at the IRS in spite of cheating on his own taxes. It's discouraging. Does this mean I can just send an apology note to the IRS in lieu of my next estimated tax payment? (Attn lurking IRS agents: Just kidding.)

8. Savings Rate Shopping: I've mentioned that shopping for the best rates on savings accounts is one of my financial "jobs" in my household. I recently spent a pretty good chunk of time on some serious rate shopping. I'm happy to share my process, if anyone's interested. Just let me know and I'll do a follow-up post (otherwise won't bore you all).

P.S. - Updated my cool quotes there on the left to reflect my current mood ... mixed feelings of optimism tempered with caution, pessimism tempered with determination.

Be Warned: Completely non-productive, ranting post ahead.

Normally I wouldn't do a random commentary on a national news story, but two things happened today and the coincidental combination of the 2 just got under my skin. Excuse me while I vent.

1. First Thing = Read an Article in Today's WSJ on Geithner (page A2). When I first heard that Barack Obama had picked Timothy Geithner to be the new Treasury secretary, I was very impressed by the fact that he had also been on McCain's short list. I thought, "Hey - This is a guy who has impressed both of the parties candidates, so he must be a pretty good choice." When I heard the first news about his tax problem, I thought "Oh hey, probably just an honest mistake." Well ..... Then I read today's article and it filled in some details that I found quite disturbing. To briefly summarize, when he worked for the IMF he was supposed to have paid self-employment (SS & Medicare) taxes, but he did not. In 2006, he was audited by the IRS for the 2003 & 2004 tax years, they found out that he hadn't paid the taxes, and so he did, with interest. [So far, nothing to get to excited about, right?] However, when the Obama team vetted him for the position, they found out that he also had not paid the same taxes for 2001 & 2002; he proceeded to pay them, with interest.
Excuse me????? Once the audit was conducted, the dude KNEW!!! He knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was supposed to have been paying those taxes. You've gotta assume the guy figured he had gotten away with not paying the taxes for 2001 & 2002 because of the statute of limitations on audits, and so that is why he did not pay them (until he was being considered for a Cabinet position). Yes, I know there are plenty of other people out there who try to get away with not paying all of their taxes (and I'm none to fond of them either), but this is the guy being considered for the freakin' Treasury Secretary position. We're not talking about a White House chef ... We're talking about the guy who would be in charge of the IRS ... and it sure sounds like he's a tax cheat! This IS a big deal. I really hope there is a more-qualified candidate out there who is willing to take the job, because I don't think that fox should be in charge of guarding the hen house.

2. Second Thing = I mailed off my 4th estimated tax payment for 2008 today. As always, unless I unknowingly made a LEGITIMATE mistake, I paid each and every dollar I am required by law to pay. It was a lot of money. I don't enjoy sending off a big check to the U.S. Treasury 4 times a year, but I know it is part of the price I pay to live in this wonderful country and enjoy its benefits. Just plain old-fashioned civic duty. But as I have commented before, I know that my tax burden would be less if everyone paid what they were supposed to. And the thought that the guy who could be in charge of things might be someone who somehow believed he was justified in not paying his share just chafes. Gee ... Am I a big sucker for having paid all my taxes all of these years?

This morning I sat down for my morning coffee with the paper and my stack of priority tasks for the day ... Top of the stack, staring at me as I read about Geithner, was my 1040-ES Payment Voucher. So hopefully my grumpiness is understandable.

Thanks for "listening" to me vent. I'll try to be more cheerful on my next post.

I know it really is time to bid farewell to 2008 and say hello to 2009 because the following happened today:

- I wrote my first check dated 2009 ... Wrote the check for the rent due Jan. 1st and dropped it off at the apartment office when I took the dog out for his afternoon walk.

- DH, bless his prompt little heart, printed out the year-end profit statement for his business this evening. I do our taxes (with a lot of help from Turbo Tax), and he knew I'd be asking for it.

- I put a new manilla folder in our financial files, labeled "2009 Taxes"

Gee ... I seem to recall having a very similar day (with just one digit changed) ... oh ... about 366 (2008 was a leap year) days ago! Happy New Year everyone!


And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Wer'e captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
(from "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell)

I saw on baselle's blog that you grow your own Broccoli Sprouts. Any chance you'd be willing to share how you do that? My husband LOVES them, but they are far too expensive to buy at the store, and when I have researched how to grow them on-line, I've gotten scared off because of safety concerns.

The coolest part of my Christmas this year was that 2 people donated to charity in my name instead of giving me a wrapped "thing." This is the first year that happened, and I'm thrilled!

One went to the organization I volunteer with, and one went to Heifer International.

This is a follow-up to my "Will We Have to Pay Banks to Hold our Money?" entry

http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2008/12/19/will-we-have-to-pay-...

We decided to move some money to a 5-year CD at WaMu paying 5.00% APY. While some may disagree that a 5-year CD is not a good place for "short-term money," this CD stipulates that there is no penalty if principal is withdrawn due to the death of one or more of the account holders. (It is a joint CD.) We view our EF as a safeguard against 3 types of events: unexpected negative events such as natural disaster or catastrophic illness, major setback in DH's business, or death (of either of us, but for all practical purposes, it really would probably only be needed if DH died). For the first 2 types of events, the money needs to be kept liquid (MMA or short-term CDs). But for the 3rd portion (the "life insurance" part of our EF), the only thing that really matters is that we can get at it without penalty if someone dies.

5.0% is a lot more attractive than 0.5%, which is where rates might be heading.

Today I called a bank to check on CD rates, and they said "no rates for new money ... we're only quoting on rollover CDs." First time I have heard that! I guess if they can borrow from the Fed for free, they don't need my money!

It's getting hard to find places to park short-term cash and earn a bit of interest on it. Shoud I be grateful that I don't yet have to PAY a bank to hold my money for me?

1. Short-term housing decision made: We are putting the house purchase off for at least a year (maybe longer). We are deferring the decision of where to buy. We are hunkering down to live in an apartment (here in Austin) for the time being. We are going to move to a 2BR within the same complex; a 1BR has been fine for the short-term, but now that we are looking at longer term, it is important that DH get a room for his office. We have selected the unit, and are just waiting to hear back from the office on the details. We'll hopefully be signing the paperwork tomorrow, and might be moving before the end of the year.

2. Christmas: For years now, our giving has been at what I call a "sustainable" level. Like so many of you, it has not been extravagent, so we have not had to cut back. I did do a couple things a bit differently this year that I am happy about.

Cards: I cut back on the number I sent. I bought only 1 small box of 18 cards, and I took the time to handwrite a personal note (short letter) with each instead of just 1 scribbled sentence. I decided to go for quality, not quantity.

Gift Wrap: As part of my gift to my sister's family, I got some really cool reusable fabric gift wrap w/ attached ribbon (from Etsy) to wrap my niece & nephew's gifts in. My sis is really in to things that are reusable, not disposable, so I know she'll appreciate it and get many many uses out of it for years to come. Our late grandmother used to reuse some Japanese rice paper as gift wrap over & over again, and she somehow learned to wrap and tie a bow without using a single piece of tape, so as not to ruin the paper. We kids never did figure out how she did that ... we thought she was like a magician. I think grandma would approve of our new family tradition, reusable fabric gift wrap.

3. If You Have Been Thinking About Getting A Pet: (Shout out to baselle! Good for you for planning to adopt that homeless cat!) For the rest of you, especially those of you who are planning to adopt a pet "someday" ... There are some good dogs and cats out there in the shelters and with the rescue groups right now that could really use a good home. There always are and always will be animals in need of adoption, but right now, with the economy being so tough, there is really a need for good adoptive "pet parents." Y'all know I do volunteer work, and it probably won't surprise anyone who actually reads this blog to learn that it is working with a small and very dedicated, 100% volunteer-run dog welfare organization. We do a variety of dog-related things, but dog fostering and adoption is part of it. There are always sad stories, but when someone surrenders a nice dog because they can't afford pet food anymore ... it really is very sad. It's happening guys.
(Sorry to end on a depressing note. I guess I should try to end on a positive note by adding that there are still a lot of great people out there who ARE adopting animals ... hooray for them!)

There is a book I have been meaning to write about, but I thought I should go back and re-read it first to do it justice (since it's been awhile since I read it). However, after reading BA's (as usual) thought-provoking post about earning vs. saving http://ba.savingadvice.com/2008/12/12/overtime-festivities_4..., I decided to go ahead and just do a quickie write-up, since it sounds like it might be of interest to several folks.

"The Net Worth Workout" is written by Susan Feitelberg, a financial adviser for JPMorgan Chase and competitve athlete (triathlons and road races). Given her interest in both finance and sports, it is natural that she wrote a book comparing financial health and physical health. She breaks financial health down in to 4 quadrants:

Earning = Metabolism (Maximizing earning strengthens and speeds up other quadrants)

Spending = Calorie Intake ("Junk" spending decreases wealth; "nutritious" spending" increases it)

Saving = Strength Training (Like weight lifting, smart saving builds financial muscle)

Investing = Cardio Fitness (Like cardio work, investing increases other components' capacity)

Early on in the book, she draws a simple diagram which is a circle divided in to the 4 quadrants, with the words Earning, Spending, Saving, and Investing written and arrows going from one quadrant to another in a circular pattern. The point she makes so excellently is that in order to have "financial health" you have to focus on all 4 quadrants. You cannot just focus on 1 or 2 and ignore the others. They all build on and enhance each other, and you need them all. It's all about balance.

For example, if you focus just on earning more, but always spend all of your earnings, you are not going to get anywhere. And if you focus on fabulous returns on your investments, but have very little invested either because you don't earn much or don't save enough of what you earn, you are not going to get very far.

She encourages you to identify your strengths and weaknesses in each area. I'm sure all of us are stronger in some areas than others. I'm strongest in the spending and saving areas. Thanks to reading this book, I was encouraged to help my husband out with his business as much as possible, and to always do some work myself for pay (to boost our "financial metabolism"). And it was immediately after reading this book that I called and set up an appointment with a CFP to discuss our investments; DH & I coordinated our tax-deferred retirement savings (came up with a "couple's asset allocation"), and chose mutual funds that fit with our goals and our conservative investment style, and we have stuck with it.

Towards the end of the book is a section that might be encouraging to folks during these recessionary times. She explains that, if you have been strengthening all 4 quadrants, if you face a serious setback in one area, you can rely on your strengths in the other 3 to get you through. Specifically, if you get laid off for a long period of time, you can lean more heavily on your smart spending habits, your savings, and your investments, and they will carry you through until you can recover in the "injured" earning quadrant.

I can't say that I thought this book was perfect. As with any PF book, don't we always find things to quibble about? For example, I didn't completely agree with her spending categorizations ... she called "ATM/Bank Fees" condiment (nice but not necessary) spending, while I would call it junk spending ... (completely unnecessary and wasteful).

But overall, I thought the book was very good. It has certainly helped me, even tho I am most definitely NOT a competitve sports type.

For someone who IS involved in competitive sports, it should be really informative. If you know someone who is an athletic type but just doesn't "get" personal finance, then I would strongly recommend this as the book that just might get through to them!

DH asked if I would cook our turkey yesterday (Wed), and at first I resisted because it would go against tradition, but DH reminded me that we were not having company over, that it is just the 2 of us, and we can do as we please, so I decided "why not?" I also went ahead and made instant pumpkin pudding ... slaved for a whole 3 minutes making that! I'm glad I went ahead and cooked yesterday, because it freed up my time today.

We had turkey yesterday, leftovers today, and will have more leftovers tomorrow. Then, I will pick the bones and freeze the remaining meat for sandwiches and soup.

We had talked about going to a movie today, and I was interested in "Australia," but when the reviews came out they were pretty tepid and I did not want to spend $14 for 2 matinee tickets to a movie that is only so-so, so we decided to skip the movie.

We came up with a much better idea. The weather was lovely and I knew traffic to downtown would be light, so we decided to go take a long walk with our dog at the Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail in downtown Austin. It was one of the things on my "To Do Before We Leave Austin" list.

For anyone interested, here is a link to a map of the trail:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/tlake_kiosk.pdf

"Town Lake" is not actually a lake but part of the Colorado River which runs through downtown Austin. Lady Bird Johnson worked to have the trail developed as part of her national beautification efforts. It winds through over 300 acres of parks that run along the river.

The trail is a bit over 10 miles, but we of course did not attempt to do the entire trail. We walked for 1-1/2 hours and probably covered over 3.5 miles. It was beautiful; it was sunny and the leaves are still on the trees, tho many fell as we walked. We all got good and tuckered out, especially our 4-legged little man. There were many other dogs for him to check out, lots of things to sniff, and squirrels to chase. He even got scared off by an irate goose when he got a bit too close!

We noticed several families BBQing and having Thanksgiving picnics in the parks. Only in Texas, eh?

Our only cost was the gas to drive us there and home again. I just love exploring places I have not been to before, especially if I can learn something new or get out and exercise in nature. It's the best of frugal fun!

After we got home and ate our turkey leftovers, DH had a bit of work to do and he recruited me to help him out a bit. The thing about being self-employed is that when there is work, you do it, no matter what day it is. It does not mean that you do not get time off ... my DH has plenty of free time to go to the driving range and hit balls, for example ... but he works at least a little bit every single day, 365 days a year. And I help him out whenever he wants my help. We are truly thankful for the work; it pays for the turkey and the gas to Town Lake and all the other necessary and good things in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Zillow's "Zestimate" on my former house is now 86% of what we sold it for, and since real estate prices in the Seattle area started turning down later than much of the rest of the country, I think it's going to fall even more. The folks who bought it only put 10% down, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing if you're buying a your starter home, but our former home was not a starter home by most people's standards (even a couple years ago). When we sold, I joked to my neighbor that we might be back if we re-purchased our old home at foreclosure auction, but I really would hate to see that happen.

We went to NASA / Johnson Space Center yesterday. It was G-R-E-A-T! We went on/to:

- Tram Tour (which included stops at Mission Control, the Astronaut Training Facility, and Rocket Park)

- Blast Off (where we got a live briefing of current spaceflight activity, especially interesting since Space Shuttle Endeavour had lifted off on its way to the Space Station just one day prior --- this included an outline of NASA's future goals)

- Living In Space (where they had mock-ups of the parts of the shuttles' interiors and explained and demonstrated how astronauts carried out their daily lives in space including activities such as eating and sleeping, and the always asked question "how do they go to the bathroom?")

- Starship Gallery & Artifact Museum (where we saw a nicely done film about the history of and reasons for space travel, then went to the museum which was just amazing) --- That is where I "touched the moon." Those of you who have been there know that there is a little piece of moon rock that they let visitors touch.

DH also tried out some of the flight simulators.

We wanted to make it a day trip to avoid having to pay for a hotel, so we followed the recommended list of "Must See" Attractions" for a shorter visit. There were other things to do and see, including several opportunities to drop some extra money on amusement park type rides. But we stuck to the things that were included with our admissionn fee, were more educational in nature, and were highest up on the "must see" list. As it was, with driving back and forth from the Austin area, it was a rather long (13-plus-hour) day. While I could have gladly spent another 1-2 hours there, going to other movies & visiting other exhibits, I still felt like we got the full experience.

For anyone who has the opportunity to visit Texas (or anyone who lives here and has not yet been), it's definitely worth the trip! For you parents, they have many activities for children (many included with the admission cost), and the kids we saw all seemed to be having an absolute blast.

We spent $5 on parking, $18.90 for 2 admission tickets (I bought tickets in advance on-line when they were having a 1/2-price sale), $15 for lunch, and I spent $3.49 at the gift store (2 postcards to send to family and 2 rubber wristbands that say "Failure Is Not An Option" for DH & I). Transportation back & forth was our biggest expense, but quite a bit less now than it would have been several months ago thanks to the lower gasoline prices.

The last couple weeks have been quite busy with work, my playing social secretary some evenings to some customers of DH's who visited from overseas, and our pup having to go to the vet to get something checked out and then needing a bit of extra attention & meds (he probably has developed allergies because of our move here --- hopefully they'll go away when we move to Cali). I have a draft blog entry going on quite a few things which includes mostly a bunch of boring numbers, but I just hadn't had the time or energy to finish it up. (Blogging about touching the moon is much more interesting.) But I will get to that next week!

NASA has the goal of landing a man (or woman) on Mars right around the time DH & I hit standard retirement age. If they can achieve that goal, then surely DH & I can achieve our goal of a secure retirement, right? As they say in Mission Control: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!

Today I got a 5-lb bag of Nutro Max dog food. They were offering a rebate for the full purchase price; however, as usual with rebates, I had to pay sales tax, and I had to pay postage to mail off my rebate.

So, that bag of dog food wasn't free ... it actually cost me $1.21 (plus a couple cents for the envelope) ... no cost for gas to the store, because I walked over to PetSmart after DH & I were done looking at digital cameras at another store. Even tho' it wasn't free, for $1.23 (or so), I think it was a good deal, especially considering the look on my dog's face when I brought it home!

The Time: Yesterday

The Location: Suburb of Austin, Texas

The Setting: Wife is sipping her morning coffee while reading the Wall Street Journal; Husband is perusing the news on the internet; Wife looks up from paper, and the "easy" conversation begins ...

Wife: What do you think the odds are that the Fed will cut interest rates?

Husband: 120%

Wife: Yea ... So, should we move some of our short-term money to a short-term CD?

Husband: Good idea

Wife: OK

Sounds easy, right? Well, what followed was "Wife" searching for best CD rates, and then having several discussions off an on over the course of the day and evening with "Husband" about length and amount of CD. Conversation expanded to include general state of the economy, prospects for Husband's business over the next few years, Wife's employment prospects following relocation given current state of economy, how much would be spent on a house, why does Husband's idea on that particular subject (how much to spend on house) continue to swing back & forth like a pendulum, why-oh-why does Husband continue to delude himself into thinking a house can be had for 50% of list, and why-oh-why-oh-why doesn't Wife realize that at any given moment earned income could plummet to zero?

It all ended up with the exaggerations dialed down, Husband & Wife in agreement (GMAC 6-mo CD at 4.00% for a compromised-on amount), followed by a fair amount of laughter, and their record of never fighting over money intact (serious discussions with differences of opion, yes ... neither of them are doormats after all ... but fights, no), but my goodness it was tiring for both of us ... er, I mean "them."

Just in time for your Halloween entertainment... The Kiss of Death, The "State" Edition

Will the scfr curse continue? (For anyone new, I had accounts at both WaMu and Wachovia when they failed or were bought out under duress, and had bailed on Indymac about one year before it went kaput. All 3 of those banks were offering attractive yields.)

Cue the scary music ...

I am now planning to move to California ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ah4DopR0...