Paycheck to Paycheck

I read an article today that said 78% of us live paycheck to paycheck.  The article was focusing on the financial hardships the current government shutdown was having on people but I was flabbergasted at the statistic.  What that really means is that 78% of people live with no margin in the financial lives.  No extra money, they spend every penny they have and when something, anything, disrupts the cash flow, there will be problems.  

I realize that there are some people who simply don’t make enough money to survive and their financial decisions are made dollar by dollar but most people with relatively steady jobs and no extenuating circumstances shouldn’t be in this situation.  They should have some kind of cushion or margin to tide over the valleys in our financial lives.  I know.  In a three year period, we experienced two layoffs and a period of unemployment.  It taught us a lot about how to thrive even under difficult situations.  Here’s my advice, if you want to consider it.

1.  Always anticipate the unexpected.  You will have an auto accident, the water heater will quit working or you’ll simply get the flu.  What will you need in any of these cases?  Money.  Find a way to put some money aside every time you get paid until you have enough to cover the smallest things.  Then, keep going.  Dave Ramsey suggest that your beginning emergency fund should be $1,000.  That’s a great place to start but it won’t cover your deductible or a new water heater.  Brainstorm things that could happen then put that much aside.  You want to have enough to cover your auto or medical deductible, a months rent, or maybe it’s your medication expenses.  You decide.

2.  Pay off your debt.  If you don’t have any consumer debt, any financial crisis will be easier to deal with.  That means you may not have a new car every 2-3 years or your phone may be an older model.  We are currently planning to get rid of most of our consumer debt this year.  We have already reduced the amount we carry over the past few years.

3. Live frugally.  Limit restaurants to those with cheap, filling meals and go rarely.  If you’re in the middle of a financial crisis, stop eating out all together.  Canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches cost little to nothing.  A baked potato with broccoli will fill you up.  A big pot of vegetable soup will serve the whole family.  Stop spending money except for absolute necessities.  We always keep a well stocked pantry.  It protects us from weather issues, financial issues and ensures that we don’t go hungry.

4. Find stuff to sell.  Everyone had old electronics, unused clothing, older toys, etc. that can be turned into cash with a garage sale.  Marketplace is also a good place to offer items for sale.  

5.  If you’re not working, find a project around the house.  Declutter and plan that garage sale.  Plant some herbs.  Repair a long broken item.  Reorganize a closet.  Babysit the neighbor’s kid or mow their lawn.  Shovel sidewalks.  Turn your time into cash.  Drive for Uber.

Finally, learn the real difference between a need and a want.  You may think you need a manicure but really what you need is a nail file, you want a manicure.  You may think you need 138 channels of cable tv, you want the cable tv.  What you need may be just to stay busy or entertain yourself.

Back to the article I read.  I was very concerned to read that some folks were saying that they may lose their house because of the shutdown.  Really? I think we’re on day 20- one potential missed paycheck and you’re facing foreclosure or eviction?  This tells me that they were in trouble long before the shutdown happened.  Occasionally, people find themselves in these situations through no fault of their own but frequently, it is the individual’s decisions that lead them to where they are now.  Buying a home way out of their budget, spending too much on cars, lavish vacations, daily coffee stops or just bad choices.  Be responsible and plan for the unexpected.  Be part of the 22% that don’t stress about money every day, build some margin in their budgets and are more prepared for those financial storms.

Day 4 and 5

It’s only been four days but I wanted to quickly pop in with an update. 

Saving the lunch money!  

Usually, I buy at least one lunch a week from the vendors - approximately $8.   I was able to spend $0 for unch this week by eating canned soup twice and eating leftovers twice.  I will be eating more soup during the winter months to cut back on calories.  The Progresso tomato soups are very low in calories.  I wish I knew a way to take small amounts 1/2 cup per day of cooked pasta to add to the soup.  I’m thinking about pre-packing some fresh veggies to eat along with it to satisfy that crunch factor.   Some days it might be a few crackers with cheese and pepperoni.  I also bought a box of snack sized popcorn to work - I believe this is a better alternative to chips.  I may even pre-pack a salad or two (for me nd hubby) for Tuesday.  It would be great to save money, cut calories and probably enjoy the lunches I do buy more.  I’m also trying to limit soda entirely but that was tough the last few days with a scratchy, sore throat.

Sewing!  

I’m struggling to get my quilt straightened on the quilt frame.  I unwound it once and thought I had it fixed only to discover that the backing is not rolling properly.  I’ll try fixing it once again because it is really too large to hoop quilt.  Tomorrow, I need to start work on cleaning and organizing my sewing room.  I will not make another one this big - not on this frame for sure.

Organization!

Also tomorrow, the Christmas stuff goes back into the attic and storage.  It won’t take long and it will make a great deal of difference in the “feel” around here without boxes and bags hanging out everywhere.

Stocking Up!

We stopped by Walmart today because they seem t be the only store selling the Camellia brand Dried Red Beans.  I bought six bags to restock our shelves now that I’ve found a yummy recipe.  While we were there, I picked up a large bag of bacon bits.  We don’t need them quite yet but, again, Walmart is the only store selling them now.  Finally, sugar was .37 a pound in the four pound packages so I got four.  That’s the cheapest price I’ve seen in a while.  I’m working on stocking my pantry back up to the six month level but really focusing on the things we eat regularly - not everything.  For instance, flour.  We really don’t use that much flour unless there’s baking going on.  One bag in the kitchen and one in the pantry will likely last six months or longer.  Canned tomatoes on the other hand are very frequently used here.

2019 Plans and Goals

Finances

Our first and most important priority for 2019 is paying debt down.  Our plan is to aggressively pay down/pay off our credit card debt first.  These debts are always subject to increases in interest rates and can quickly become a problem if routine payments are not met.  With the fed recently making a move, I think this could be a continuing trend for 2019 and rising interest rates mean higher costs for credit cards.  We have made significant progress on this card’s balance this year along with paying for an expensive (well deserved) vacation.  Once we bring it down to $1k, we will move to the second card. If all goes as planned, we should be able to have both card accounts into small balances by the end of March.  Further into the year,we will be paying down on one or both of our loans (auto or motorcycle).

Along with our payoff strategy, I will also be moving 20% of DH’s take home pay into savings (beginning with 10% in January and increasing from there). This serves two purposes - it builds our savings quickly and allows us to see what our budget will be like if he takes a pay cut in 2019.  Due to some changes and events in his job in late 2018, this could be very useful information.  100% (or close to it) of my salary goes to debt reduction.

We will also be looking at some other things to reduce our spending and/or position ourselves for future events.  Some of the things that come to mind are eliminating our home phone and perhaps putting those dollars towards a faster internet.  Also, we may reduce our cable expenses. We will be utilizing Netflix and other streaming services more.  We will be decluttering and organizing and a garage sale may be necessary I the spring and fall.

Home Improvement

We have some things that need to get done in 2019.  Rebuilding or outside fence is a high priority along with replacing the exterior door on our garage.  Neither should be very expensive except for our labor.  I’d also like to finish painting the inside of the garage and generally clean it out.  The front porch needs a little repair and paint touch up.

Personal (for me)

I want to try 26 new recipes this year and read 24 books.  (I got a kindle for Christmas so this is on!)

I will finish my green quilt this year and finish a quilt for the youngest grandson and a baby quilt for a new baby in the family.  (I need to get on this one.)

I plan to post once a week to update on our progress, share a recipe or share a project.  It may be brief depending on what’s going on.

Saying goodbye to 2018

2018 brought a lot of changes - a new job for me and the same job for hubby.  (The end of the year even brought fewer hours for him.). We’ve been able to sell a car which did not live up to our expectations (after spending a lot of money trying) and replacing it with a car that we’re really happy with.  We traded motorcycles to get a bike that was more in line with what hubby needs.  We had some tree trimming done and most exciting of all, we took a cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  All this while paying our main credit card down from $10k to $4k or less.  We haven’t been particularly frugal but that’s all about to change.  I have some big financial plans for 2019.

I’m going to detail out some of those goals in a post tomorrow for New Years Day and hope to post once a week in 2019,

Happy Labor Day!

I always enjoy a long holiday weekend.  That extra day is good for the mind and the body.

I mentioned in my last post that we would be sending another hunk of change to our debt but as it turns out (it always does), we had to hire a tree service to come cut some dead limbs off our very tall pine trees.  Money flies when you’re having fun - I guess.  Included in their fee was taking away all of the old yard trash, dead limbs and rotting firewood.  They did an awesome job with the cleanup and now we can move forward with getting the back yard back in order.  We will be raking all the pine straw to the rear of the yard and continue to kill any scrub and weeds that pop up.  We also need to finish the side fence this fall and get the gate rebuilt.

Be been trying to get our passport applications complete and it’s been a challenge.  I have one done and one to go.  I was very disappointed to learn that the post office will not take any applications on Saturday so we will both have to take off work to get this done.  DH is working out of town this coming week so it will be delayed at least a week.  If I had known, I did check the website and it had old information, I would have finished this before now.

I plan to get several things accomplished this week including assembling the fence gate, scrubbing bathrooms and recaulking, deep cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, mowing the grass and maybe even some pressure washing.  I do better staying busy when he’s away.  There’s always quilting and sewing if I run out of things.

I read an article this week that said more people were grilling steaks because the economy was better.  I bought some great looking steaks at BJs today and grilled them for dinner.  Delicious.  I would estimate that our dinner cost about $20 for both of us -salad, potato, big steaks and a cocktail.  Compare that to what would cost $60 or more at Longhorn.  I have two more steaks that I will grill tomorrow ($12) that will make two or more meals of Steakhouse Noodle Soup.  

My next big project is to spray down the front porch with bleach then pressure wash it.  We need to touch up with caulk and paint before the cold wet weather of winter gets here.  Fall also brings a need to pressure wash the driveway and sidewalk.  The deck simply needs a wash down of the table and chairs since I pressure washed it earlier this year.  Now that the limbs are now dangling over the deck we can use it again.  I am curious if I would have better luck with growing some vegetables this spring.  I may give it a limited try.  Maybe a couple of tomato bushes, peppers and herbs.  

Progress on the Irish Chain Quilt is going slow, it’s a lot of quilting and many thick seams.  I just try to get 4-6 hours of quilting each week to keep progressing.  I need to start thinking about Christmas gifts.  It will be here before you know it. I saw Christmas tree boxes at Sam’s today.  

I’ve got to run - the dishwasher needs to be rebooted and I need to get some laundry started.  It may be a holiday weekend but we still need clean clothes and dishes.  I also need to get a Boston Buttin the crockpot.

Tuesday Update

One of my goals for this week was to finally pay the balance on our ER visit earlier this year.  In addition to the $600 copay (and the $150 copay at the Urgent Care),we owed an additional $465 for our portion of the MRI.  The total bill was about $11k less the thousand we paid and the thousand the insurance company paid.  They wrote off $9k in contractural discounts.  Ridiculous!  I logged on to their website and paid it off tonight.  That’s one more debt paid off.  I have a small dental balance that was supposed to get paid on our last visit but they didn’t collect it so it just rolled over.  That will be next week’s payment.  Friday is payday so that means another hunk of change to our primary consumer debt.  

I cooked a pot of chicken noodle soup Sunday night using just one chicken breast, some oldish celery sticks and some baby carrots that were much bigger than baby size.  We enjoyed the leftovers tonight with a grilled cheese sandwich.  I love frugal meals like that. It was just enough to satisfy and very inexpensive.  

Sunday we also made great progress in getting some landscape shrubs cut down to size.  We purchased a nice battery operated hedge trimmer from Home Depot using a gift certificate DH won several months ago.  $0 out of pocket for us!  I was able to trim and shape up some boxwoods and azaleas.  DH used his electric chainsaw to severely cut back a camellia bush that had grown over 12 feet tall.  It was growing into the dogwood beside it.  It’s rough looking right now.  It will either die or start putting out new limbs in the spring.  Either way, it’s better than it was before.   We still have a lot of cuttings and limbs in the backyard that we need to find a way to get rid of.  DH is going to see if a tree trimming company will come and trim our dead limbs AND get rid of the waste back there.  Hope it’s cost effective.

Saturday we exchanged two shirts at Kohls we bought the weekend before.  While we were there, we bought six pairs of socks using a $20 Kohl’s Cash coupon and less than $3 in cash.  What a bargain!  

My, how time flies!

I never expected that taking on a new job would be this hard.  Not the job itself but its impact of daily living and my energy level.  Yes, I know we’re all getting older and I do appreciate that but some days, it is difficult to comprehend.

I’m not going to update on every thing today but I will cover things a few at the time:

First, the job is going well.  It’s not super exciting or challenging at all but, it is a full time job with benefits and the pay is substantially more than the part time position I held before.  If I had my wish, I would want more authority and pay but for now, I’m satisfied with what I have.  There is a cast of characters at work (isn’t there always?) who are both interesting and annoying.  There’s always a treat or birthday or celebration which accounts for a slight weigh gain. For now, I’m trying to limit my portions and pass on excessive “celebrating” at work.  Friday, we ate three different times at work for some reason or another.  I was good and only had a taste here and there.

I have been able to make a Couple of large payments to one credit card as I mentioned in an earlier post.  That has been slowed down with some other expenses such as new tires for my car and two new pairs of glasses. I intend to keep up with this plan as much as possible.  

Plans -  we’ve booked a vacation for later this year, a cruise.  It’s a celebration vacation for our anniversary.  Our plan is to unplug, relax and enjoy with no thoughts about home, work, etc.  I put the deposit down two weeks ago and we’ve done a little shopping for some clothing that we will need.

I’m going to add a new goal for 2018.  I know it’s late in the year but I want to.  I’m going to can at least four things before the end of the year.  I put tomato jam up tonight (5 half pints plus a half pint in the fridge just for us).  It will be great on burgers and sandwiches especially when tomatoes take on that bland winter taste.  I know I will also put up some applesauce because I really enjoy that on potato pancakes.  Now, I just need to find two more things.