scfr's Personal Finance Blog

Here's a site where you can answer a few simple questions and come up with a rough estimate of your life expectancy:

http://www.nmfn.com/tn/learnctr-lifeevents-longevity

I'm sure it's not perfect, but it does give you a number you can plug in to those retirement calculators when asked to enter your life expectancy ... Probably a better number than just guessing, tho' my number from doing the game was the same number I had been guessing (90 years).

After averaging 2 or 3 books a week for months, I suddenly sold 6 books in the last 2 days! And I know wyozozo and koppur have been getting good book sales as well. Anyone know what's going on with half.com? Have they been advertising? Sending out subliminal messages? Or is it just that the only stuff on TV right now is crap, so everyone's hitting the books harder than usual (as I have been doing)?

Whatever is going on, I hope it keeps up. And if anyone has been waiting to list books, I'd say jump in and do it!

If anyone has a Colette Peters book on Christmas cake decorating lying around that you don't want, you may want to list it on Half.com. You should be able to sell it for at least list price, and probably more. Of all the books I've sold on Half.com, it's the one that sold for more than I paid for it.

We are loving having pots of fresh herbs right outside our door. I've done 2 harvests so far. Last weekend I thinned the herbs and chopped up what I yanked out and mixed them in with scrambled Egg Beaters & goat cheese ... really delicious! Last night I snipped a big bunch that I chopped up and put on top of scalloped potatoes. Not only did it add a bit of color & flavor & nutrition, a big bonus was the wonderful aroma coming from the oven as the dish was baking.

Both times I used mixed herbs, just grabbing any old variety that looked like it was ready.

I am a newbie gardener, and I highly recommend fresh herbs to anyone who doesn't have experience gardening but is interested in trying. They are really easy to grow, grow so well in containers, and fresh herbs are SOOO expensive from the store.

I bought just one seed packet which was a mix of herbs, started them inside in egg cartons, and then transplanted them outside in larger containers when they got big enough and the weather had warmed up. I didn't buy any containers, just used what I had on hand. I even scrubbed out a no-longer-in-use trash can, had DH drill holes in the bottom, and ... voila! ... instant garden container.

If I can do it, anyone can!

Reading posts about childrens birthday parties and yarn hoarding, combined with the fact that Spiderman 3 is in the theaters now, jarred my memory of a really terrific and frugal birthday party game my mom did when I about 7. She took cheap little "prizes" and wrapped them up, one for each party guest. [I don't remember what the prizes were; the game itself was the main point, not the prizes.] Then she tied string or yarn around each prize and wove a gigantic "spider web" throughout the entire house, crossing and twisting all of these balls of string/yarn around each other, furniture, staircases, etc. Each piece of string/yarn ended at the front door (with little balls remaining for unraveling). When all of the guests arrived, each one got a little ball of yarn, and we had to then untangle and unravel the web until we reached our prizes. Imagine 10 little girls climbing through this giant web of yarn to get to a little prize ... Oh my, we had so much fun and we got good and tired doing it, which probably made the rest of the party easier on my mom!

My parents did lots of other great, fun, and frugal party things (cupcake decorating contests, picnics in the park, etc.) but the spider web game was definitely the most memorable!

Well, since I already announced that the results of our garage sale mid-May pushed me over my goal of $3K, this is a bit anti-climactic, but here it is.

In May I netted $1,061.07 from selling off stuff (mostly at the garage sale, but also a bit on Half.com and Craigslist, plus my DH sold a few of his books to a local shop) and earned $11.28 in interest on proceeds from the stuff I've sold.

My grand total is now $3,181.69.

I am going to continue selling things, but probably won't report again until just before our move in September.

My focus has shifted from raising a certain amount of money to seeing just how much I can pare down and still feel comfortable. I've spent quite a bit of time thinking: "How small of a house could we live in without feeling cramped." I definitely don't want to feel squeezed in; been there, done that, don't ever wanna do it again! But I know that a smaller house means not only a lower purchase price but also significantly lower upkeep costs and monthly expenses (especially in Texas where AC is so necessary yet expensive), not to mention that it is better for the environment. The house we choose is going to have a big impact on my goal of becoming "Balance Sheet Affluent" by age 60 ... It all ties together, doesn't it?

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And to completely change gears, I have had a really rewarding month in terms of my business, both emotionally and financially. After sending out letters to my clients that I would be closing my business, I was overwhelmed and gratified to receive many phone calls, Email, notes, and even one boquet of flowers. They all said how much they were going to miss me; it was really surprising and touching. My husband commented: "Wow - This is almost like attending your own funeral, isn't it?" And he was right. I've also had quite a few people decide that they want to use my business one last time before I leave, so I have been very busy the past couple weeks and my schedule is very full right up to my last day of work. To be honest, I had expected just the opposite, that people would start looking for someone new when they found out I was leaving. The extra income is going to be a nice boost, and I am glad that I've already done so much pre-relocation-sell-off since the next few months are going to be busy with work.

This morning I thinned my rainbow chard plants. These are the baby plants I uprooted so that the remaining plants have room to grow:



They represent my first-ever vegetable garden "harvest," so I am very excited! I walked back in to the house clutching these fresh, lovely, tender greens with a big smile on my face. I am beginning to understand why people get so enthusiastic about gardening.

Not sure how to assign a monetary value to these since you don't see "baby chardlings" at the supermarket. I decided on $1.50 after asking myself how much I would pay for them: Are they worth more than a buck? Yes, definitely! Would I pay $2 for them? Naw, probably not. So, $1.50 it is.

Full-grown chard has fairly tough stems, so normally I would chop them up and stir fry in a bit of olive oil with garlic. But, these guys are so nice and tender that I think I'll just steam them.

My grape tomato seedlings are about ready to transplant. I've been "hardening them off" ... a month ago I did not even know what that meant!

Because I have no more "$20 Challenge" funds left without "charging it" and because I'm moving in the fall and don't want any more STUFF, I'm looking for suggestions on how to make homemade, disposable tomato cages. Could I make them out of old wire hangers, or would those be too flimsy?

Anyone else remember that old song "Clean Up Woman?"

That song is running through my head this morning!

Already this morning I:
- Used my husband's dinner leftovers to make my breakfast (chopped up a bit of meat in to little pieces, zapped it in the microwave with some BBQ sauce, and rolled it up in a whole grain tortilla --- yum)
- Used his leftover toothpaste tube: He grabs and squeezes from the middle, and when he thinks there is nothing left in the tube I take it from him and get a couple more weeks' worth of brushing from it by starting at the bottom and squeezing the living daylights out of it!
- Used his leftover soap scraps: When the soap bar gets too small for his liking, he grabs a new bar. I save his little soap scraps, moisten them a bit, and squish them in to perfectly good little soap balls that I use for my showers.

I actually like doing these things; I like the creative challenge of finding ways to make things stretch as far as possible!

Last night I dreamed I pulled in to the gas station to fill up and the price was $6.50 per gallon! Everyone at the station stood around chatting and comparing gas prices at different stations.
Bizarre ...

I transplanted the herb starts outside a few days ago ... They looked so healthy and vibrant when they were inside in the little egg cups .... But they look like scrawny little pathetic weeds in the great big planters!

Some of the rainbow chard seeds that I sowed directly outside have sprouted! Yee haw!

I'm waiting for the grape tomato starts to get a bit bigger before transplanting ... On most of them I can see the 2nd pair of leaves peeking out.

Overall, I'm just amazed that things are actually growing and that I haven't killed everything off (yet).

How on earth does someone have a NEGATIVE balance on their $20 challenge? Read on to find out ...

For my 2007 $20 challenge, I have challenged myself to take $20 cash to start up my first-ever vegetable garden. Once I start harvesting, I will add the value of what I grow based on what it would cost if I bought it at the store.

I started herbs & grape tomato seeds inside, and planted rainbow chard seeds directly outside. [I may also plant some lettuce blend seeds ... still trying to make up my mind.] I scrounged up as many found containers as I could; since my last update I got six 5-gallon pails through Freecycle which I think will be good for the tomatoes.

I'm doing all container gardening because I'm a newbie and it forces me to keep this small-scale and because I'm in a rental house so that limits my options. [I don't think my friend / landlord would be thrilled if I tore up his yard!]

What I realized since my last update was that I did not have nearly enough
potting soil to plant all of my starts! I had bought a huge bag at Costco and thought it would be enough ... but I was wrong, wrong, wrong! Go ahead and laugh you experienced gardeners ... I do realize it was a total newbie mistake.

So, I thought long and hard about what I would do. I came up with a couple options such as:
- Add more cash to my challenge money [For example, I am now doing Pinecone surveys and have made $15 already this year. I could have added that money to my challenge and used it to buy more soil.]
- Just plant as many starts as I could with the soil I had and consider those my "$20 Challenge Plants" --- Then buy some more soil out of my pocket, keep them separate, and consider them the "non-challenge plants."
- Give away the extra starts and just not bother with them at all.

I thought about this dilema for several days. I really wanted to make my decision in the spirit of my original challenge to myself which was: "How would a new vegetable gardening entrepreneur start up a little gardening 'business' with only $20 in cash?" So I decided to do what so many small-time entrepreneurs have done when they find themselves strapped for cash but still believing in themselves and their product: I decided to figuratively "whip out the credit card and charge it!" So, I bought a 2nd big bag of soil which put me over the $20 amount, and I am now charging myself interest at the rate of 8.66% until I have harvested enough veggies to get out of the red. Hence, the NEGATIVE $10.89 balance on my $20 challenge. That number is just going to get worse until I actually harvest something, and if my crops fail, I may bankrupt my challenge. [So, it really is like starting a little business!]

Now, if you're interested, here are a couple points for clarification:
1. The 8.66% rate is the average rate on my credit cards. I am not actually carrying a balance on my cards (I pay them off in full every month) so I am not actually paying any interest on that soil, but because I want to "keep it real," I decided to charge myself interest.

2. I really am a small business owner, as is my husband. I am definitely not advocating "whipping out the credit card and charging it" as a way to start up a business!!! But I do realize that is what many folks who start businesses have to do. I most strongly advise that if you really want to start up a business you do your darndest to not only come up with the start-up cash and enough to keep the business going for as long as you think it will take to see a profit, but that you also have many many months of living expenses and a generous emergency fund set aside before you actually go out on your own. [Maybe someday I'll write an entry about the years of planning, preparing, and sacrificing my husband and I did before taking the plunge and going out on our own ...]

Well ... Here's hoping for good weather until my next update!

For the 2007 $20 challenge, I am using $20 for my first ever attempt at vegetable gardening.

Starting in Jan, I saved egg cartons and scrounged up some containers (including a no-longer-used trash can).

I bought some seeds, seed starting mix, and potting soil.

Last weekend I started 2 types of seeds inside, planting as many as I could in the egg cartons and the rest in a container with a bit of dirt: A packet of mixed basic herbs (parsley, basil, chives, and thyme) and a packet of "jelly bean hybrid tomatoes" (the grape-size ones). This evening, I saw the first sprout poking through the dirt! I know it's a silly thing to get excited about, but it's my first sprout ever, and I'm relieved that something is actually growing!

I have some rainbow chard seeds that I will plant outside in a container this weekend. I have only $1-plus-change left and I'll either buy a plant at one of the spring plant sales, or I may buy one more packet of seeds.

I've been extremely cautious in my seed selection, only buying ones that say on the packet that they are suitable for growing in containers. I know as I get more experienced with this gardening business I'll be brave enough to experiment, but not this year ... With only $20 to get my little garden growing, I can't afford a dud!

I got a welcome Email from Pinecone today! They said I'd be getting my first survey soon! Yippee!!!

I really didn't expect they needed any more participants in my demographic, so I was pleasantly surprised when they accepted me.

Thanks to everyone who spread the good word about Pinecone and especially about the link: Ima Saver, Broken Arrow, Lucky Robin, and snackatack2000.

I hope everyone who signed up got accepted.

I'd like to make up a batch of homemade burritos and stick them in the freezer to have anytime I want a quick lunch ...which is most days

I know store-bought burritos aren't very expensive if bought in bulk packs, but I'd like to try making healthier versions at home (using whole wheat tortillas, for example).

Have any of you ever done this successfully? What tips can you offer?

My "new" car has a cassette player, so I'm now able to get books on tape from the library and listen to them while I drive. Today I picked up "The Millionaire Mind" and started listening to it. Just started it, but it sounds like it's going to be very interesting.

My Netflix charge is going down!

I subscribe at the 1-at-a-time (2 a month) level and the price is going down from $5.99 to $4.99 per month. Yea! I'm happy to save a buck!

I'm not sure if they are making changes on the other subscription levels.

At the risk of embarrassing myself, thought I'd share this story to let others learn from my mistake.....

Since we paid down our mortgage, we take the standard deduction on our taxes instead of itemizing. So, I no longer care about getting a receipt when I donate used goods.

There are a couple drop boxes for used clothes in my town that I ASSUMED were for some sort of charity. They have the American Flag on them and a big recycle sticker and a nice-sounding name. Since the locations are so convenient, the last couple times I cleaned out my closets I dropped off clothes there.

Then I heard that these were actually set out by some sort of for-profit re-selling outfit. So, this morning I looked one of the drop boxes over thoroughly while pumping my gas (one is located at our gas station) and, sure enough, there is no mention of it being for a non-profit charity.

Shame on me ... my bad for not reading carefully enough before dropping off my "donations"! I will be much more careful in the future.

Tomorrow's the day to list, ladies and gentlemen! Good luck on your auctions, everyone!

As part of our pre-location purge I am selling books and CDs on half.com.

I have had 2 buyers who apparently buy many books every day (we're talking hundreds). One of them has now bought from me twice, and had the books shipped to different people at different addresses, each time with a note "no invoice please." I think these people must be somehow simultaneously buying my book & re-selling it to another person.

Anyone of you smart people know how they are doing that?

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I was going to hold off on posting anything about this until I had my end-of-the-month totals but I'm so excited I just couldn't wait!

The first (and by far the biggest) step in preparing for our relocation is selling off as much of our stuff as we can bear to part with.

Thanks to ThreeBeanSalad's heads-up, I posted some furniture for sale on Ebay when they had a 20-cent listing sale. Out of 7 listings, only 2 sold, but since the listing fee was so minimal I don't mind. The folks who bought one of our sofas came this morning and picked it up. They seemed so happy with it. I think they got a fabulous deal, and we are happy to not have to move it, so it was a win-win for everyone.

Last night I listed the 5 items that did sell on Ebay on Craigslist (www.craigslist.org). It was the first time I ever listed on Craigslist. One item already sold this morning; some nice folks came and took a look and bought it on the spot, for cash. No listing fee, no commissions, just cash in hand. How cool is that?

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When making a deposit at our local branch yesterday, I inquired about the current interest rate on our MMA. I was disappointed to see that it had just dropped 0.35%. I talked to the bank manager and said we'd have to close that account if the rate is so low; she said she would call someone higher up in the organization to see if they could keep our rate at the higher rate. I have a feeling that they are going to say no because it is a such a large bank (our deposit is peanuts to them).

However, I have successfully negotiated higher rates with smaller local banks, especially on CDs. So, it never hurts to ask for a higher rate.

Also, don't be afraid to take your business elsewhere.

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I've decided what my $20 challenge will be. I am going grow some produce at home for the first time ever. I am ashamed to admit that I have wanted to do this and have even felt I should do this for about 17 years but just never did for a variety of reasons:
- With my former job, I was travelling for most of the growing season (this is really the only legitimate excuse and it ended with my former job 4-1/2 years ago).
- I have been just plain lazy about it, or just did not get my act together in time to get things in the ground.
- I have been scard off by stories about how people end up spending so much money on their gardens that it becomes a money pit instead of a money saver. [A neighbor of mine quipped when I commented on his wife's delicious home grown tomatoes ... They only cost $300 apiece, but for you a special deal at $250!]

This Challenge is the perfect impetus for me to not only finally do this, but to see just how cheaply it can be done by a total rookie! I won't be able to get carried away buying fancy, unnecessary things for the garden --- not if I'm going to stick to the $20 in "seed money" (pun intended).

Here is my timeline:
- Jan & Feb = Learn about container gardening, decide what I will try to grow, and start scrounging for free stuff around the house that I can use. [During this time I'll park the $20 in an MMA and let it earn a bit of interest.]
- Mar & Apr = Order seeds. Start growing seedlings inside.
- May onward = Transplant seedlings outside, tend the garden, then harvest the goodies and add up the value of what I've grown.
- October onward = We are planning to move around Oct. 1st, so hopefully everything will be harvested by then. I will probably just have to park my money in an MMA again and let it earn interest 'til the end of the year due to other priorities.

Here are my rules for myself:
- I will expense what I actually go out and buy. For example, if I have a half-used bag of soil around the house, I won't charge myself for that, but if I go out and buy a bag of soil and only use half of it I will charge myself for the entire bag.
- I will only grow things that we customarily buy now. [In other words, I won't plant things just because they are expensive at the store in order to artificially inflate my bottom line.]
- I will do my best to avoid any hidden, unknown, and unaccounted for expenses. I will do my accounting for this $20 Challenge just as strictly as I do for my business. For example, since water is probably a big cost in gardening, I will come up with a system to capture the water that comes out of my showerhead and down the drain while waiting for my shower to heat up, and use that in my garden. Or if I drive to the garden center just to buy plants, I will expense the mileage at the IRS-approved rate.

Now that I have posted this for the world to see, it means I really have to do it, doesn't it? Gulp!

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