1. What Are You Giving Up For Lent?

    February 22, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    I’ve been trying to decide what to give up for Lent. I’m not Catholic so it sure won’t be sweets (I just got my Girl Scout cookies!) or red meat. I’d love for it to be my debt. LOL! Seriously though, to that end, I am going to do the following to avoid the 7 deadly sins (meant to be tongue in cheek).

    Gluttony – Eat out less even though it comes out of our disposable income.

    Greed – Continue with my no-spend challenge. I haven’t made any significant purchases so far this year, but there have definitely been a couple of impulse buys.

    Pride – I can barely get clothes in and out of my closets (yes, closets) and that’s after a couple of rounds of purging before we moved to our current house.  In fact, the whole house could use decluttering, but I’m going to focus on my closets first.

    Sloth – It’s time to give up being a couch potato. My bike is on a trainer and we have an elliptical and kettlebells. Hulu Plus offers loads of exercise videos and we own WiiFit. No excuses!

    Envy – I shalt not covet my neighbor’s iPad. Or buy one either! (I have resisted for at least 4 months so far.)

    I’m really stretching on the last two!

    Lust – It refers to the lack of self-control in addition to the obvious connotation. I take it to mean that I should attempt all things in moderation – eating, drinking, spending, etc.

    Wrath – One definition is turning one’s anger inward. I still harbor hostility and resentment over the short sale of our dream house. I need to get over it but may need a good self-help book or therapy in order to do it. Or maybe just a good, swift kick in the backside!

    So, what are you giving up for Lent? Feel free to share in the comments.

    Category Weight Loss and Personal Finances | Tags: | 1 Comment

  2. That’s It! I’m Packing My Bags!

    February 21, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

     

    I’ve had a number of songs flitting around in my head lately – Come Sail Away, I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane & the Go Go’s Vacation. Then there’s the part of my brain telling me that I can’t possibly take a vacation while still in debt. I find myself back to my conundrum of whether to take an all or nothing approach to paying off debt or find some middle ground.

    I have also been haunted by the capsizing of the Costa Concordia. A retired couple from my hometown raised four children and scrimped and saved to take their dream vacation in Europe. It turned out to be their first and last. Morbid, I know, but I continue to dwell on the notion that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

    My husband and I have had the good fortune to do a fair bit of traveling together to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and stateside to Door County, Arkansas, The Black Hills, Colorado, Seattle to San Francisco, Boston and Cape Cod,  Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago, Kentucky, St. Louis and Michigan. We have both been to Germany on separate occasions.

    We’re looking forward to resuming our travels, but I want to be as practical as possible about it.  I’m going to use one or more of the following in planning my future trips.

    • Compare air, hotel and car rental on websites like Kayak, Priceline or Orbitz.
    • Visit family or friends (if they’ll have you). We’re hoping to visit a friend in Portland in April, but only if airfare drops dramatically.
    • Set up a vacation fund and have automatic deposits made into it. We’re saving now for a tropical vacation in Winter 2013.
    • Combine business and pleasure. We’re going to Fincon12 a day early and staying a day after.
    • Consider alternative accommodations - campgrounds, condo rental, all-inclusive. We have camped on several of our trips and have also stayed at all-inclusive resorts.
    • Research attractions ahead of time. There may be online or early booking discounts or coupons.

    Do you still go on vacation while in debt? What are your tips to save money on the cost of your trip?

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | 4 Comments

  3. Some Food For Thought

    February 20, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Category Weight Loss and Personal Finances | Tags: | No Comments

  4. I’ll Pay It Back…Someday

    February 19, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    For the past several months I have been struggling with determining the “right” pace to pay off our debt. My husband and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University so part of me thinks we should not have a life until our debt is gone. But then real life intervenes. Yesterday I found out that an acquaintance passed away on Valentine’s Day. He was only 32.  I also think of my dad.  He and my step-mom worked hard until they retired and that’s when they planned to travel and enjoy life. That never happened. My step-mom died of cancer in 2006 and my dad is legally disabled and rarely leaves his house.

    So do I say to heck with my debt and just pay the minimum or not pay it back at all? Shouldn’t I live life now because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed? I personally couldn’t do that and I certainly don’t recommend that you do either. So I’m back to my question, what is the right pace to pay off debt? I think the answer is subjective and personal, but serious consideration should be given to the following things.

    What expenses do you have?

    Track every penny for a minimum of 30 days.  Are you stopping for coffee every day on the way to work? Eating lunch and dinner out several times a week? Are you a movie buff of clothes hound? Where can you cut back that you won’t even miss it? Even putting a few more dollars towards your debt makes a difference.

    Next, take a look at your monthly bills. Do you really need all those cable channels? Every feature on your cell phones? The gym membership you never use? Try cutting back one thing at a time. Here’s what we did. You just found more money to direct at your debt.

    How much debt do you have?

    If you thought tracking your spending and taking a serious look at your monthly bills was tough, this may really be a humbling experience.  Make a list of all  your debt except for your mortgage:

    • car payment(s)
    • student loans
    • credit cards
    • other consumer debt
    • second mortgage
    • personal loans

     

    We sold our house on a short sale and just paid off the payment settlement on our second mortgage.  That leaves 3 credit card balances totalling $20K and a personal loan for my jewelry business of $5K from my mom that will be deducted from my inheritance if I don’t pay it back. we are using the debt snowball method, paying off the smallest balance first regardless of interest rates.

    How long do you have until retirement?

    I have been through three lay-offs in my career and during the most recent one, I was unemployed for 28 months. When I went back to work full-time last May, we had moving expenses to pay for.  We also thought we deserved to splurge on new sofas and an area rug, clothing & electronic gadgets because we’d gone without for so long. We have since re-focused on paying off debt and have now turned our thoughts towards investing for retirement.

    At what age do you plan on retiring? We’re figuring 65 if we’re lucky. We are currently in our early forties and only have about $60K in 401ks, IRAs & and an ETF. Getting our debt paid off will allow us to concentrate on making up for the years we didn’t contribute to retirement and for the losses due to several recessions.

    I am now contributing 6% to my 401k and so is my husband.  I also invested $500 in ETFs. It’s a start.

    We hope to have our credit card debt paid off in about 20 months. How long will it take you?

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Happy Valentine’s Day Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers

    February 15, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

     

     

    How much did you spend on Valentine’s Day?

     

    I spent $80 on dinner last night that gave me food poisoning and $4 on a greeting card to which my husband says.,”I thought we had a no (greeting) card agreement.” He did make up for it (sort of) by bringing home chicken noodle soup, a plant & a greeting card ($29).

     

    What did you get your loved one? What did they get you? Did either of you break the bank?

     

    What did yo do if you’re single? Did you buy yourself a gift?

     

    I’d love to hear from you.

     

    xoxo

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | No Comments

  6. Some Saturday Link Love

    February 11, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    I have not written a new post in a week and now this is my first stab at Link Love.  Let’s see if I can figure this out.

    Yakezie

    As a reminder to myself of the commitment I made to Yakezie, I realized that a) I have a long ways to go and b) that I am not alone in this journey.  I really appreciated Money Cactus’ openness about various rankings.

    Being Debt Free

    It’s been a rough week and I was looking for inspiration and found it in a number of places.

    I was excited to read about people becoming debt free.  I’ve been following Girl with the Red Balloon’s countdown to debt freedom and cheered right along with her when she reached her goal early.

    I recently started following Money Talks Coach and I really felt like I had a lot in common with her when I read about her journey out of consumer debt.

    Finally, who doesn’t dream of being wealthy?  Andrea over at So Over Debt shared the 5 Things Wealthy People Never Say.

    Renting

    My husband and I are renting due to a short sale and its been a very humbling experience after 14 years of home ownership. Carrie Smith guest posted on Perkstreet.com about choosing renting over home ownership.

    Health

    I have been having issues since the New Year when I transferred prescriptions due to new prescription plan and I went without medications for the treatment of my fibromyalgia for awhile. I have been trying to eat healthier, but exercise continues to be a struggle for me. I really related to Jessica’s post on The Debt Princess.

    Expenses You Don’t Think About

    Finally, Cait at Blonde on a Budget brought up a topic that I have honestly never given any thought to, including sales tax in the price.

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | 5 Comments

  7. Progress Update on 2012 Goals

    February 3, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    Here is my progress so far on the goals I set for 2012. How are you doing on yours?

    Health

    •  Adopt a healthier lifestyle through better food choices and exercise - We are working on meal planning each week and have set up our at home gym.  Now to use it!

     

    Wealth

    • Contribute 6% to my company’s 401K (from 0%) and have husband increase his contribution from 3 to 6% – We actually met this goal in Dec. 2012 but this month we opened an additional retirement account with Betterment and will be contributing to it on a monthly basis.
    • Pay cash for a trip to Portland in April and Fincon 2012 in the Fall and start saving for my sister’s destination wedding in Winter 2013 – I set up a 1 year vacation fund on Betterment to help pay for my trip in Winter 2013.
    • Donate to worthy charities – I’ve donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of a friend’s aunt.
    • Start to earn a passive income from blogging by the end of the year – I signed up for Adsense.

     

    Growth

    • Blog 3 times a week minimum – I joined the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge in an attempt to stay on track with blogging.
    • Learn WordPress – I have been working on my site, trying plug-ins by trial and error. I am also working with a graphic designer to come up with a logo.

     

    Category Weight Loss and Personal Finances | Tags: | No Comments

  8. January No Spend Challenge Results

    February 2, 2012 by thriftyandfit

    How did the January No Spend Challenge go for you? I figured I’d better share how it went for me since I was among several that proposed the challenge. I think we could have done better, but we did put my husband’s third paycheck of the month to good use.

    Biggest Downfall

    Eating out is still our Achille’s heel & January was no different (cash or debited) – $200.

    Splurge

    No warm weather getaway for me this winter so I paid for a 4-day Scrapbooking retreat that I’m attending this month. (check) – $120.25.

    Blog related

    I bought my Fincon ticket (charged) – $149.00.

    Truck repair

    A week ago Sunday my truck wouldn’t start so my husband bought jumper cables first and then a new battery when jump starting didn’t work (charged) – $117.

    Checking

    We opened an account with Perkstreet (electronic transfer from checking) – $25.

    Investment

    In an effort to contribute more towards retirement, we opened an account with Betterment (electronic transfer from checking) – $500.

    Emergency Fund

    We had every intention of putting $1000 into an emergency fund,  but ended up with $700 (electronic transfer from checking to savings).

    Comments

    I consider this month a semi-FAIL because we ended up using my credit card twice. If we hadn’t eaten out as much or paid for the retreat, we would not have had to use it.

    Also, we still have mixed feelings about investing in retirement while we still have debt (Dave Ramsey made an impression on us), but we are not getting any younger and may in fact have to play catch up once we’re debt free.

    I have decided to keep up the no spend challenge on a month by month basis. Wish me luck in February, especially if we get a tax refund!

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | 2 Comments

  9. Top 10 Reasons You Might Be Weird

    January 31, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    Do your friends & family make fun of your efforts to get debt free?  Then these are the top 10 reasons you might be weird (as Dave Ramsey puts so bluntly).

     

    10. You got rid of cable TV so you have no idea which reality star is doing what with whom. And you don’t care.

    9. You don’t shop online or in stores unless you can double stack discounts and you certainly wouldn’t be caught dead paying shipping.

    8. You know at any given moment how much money is in your checking account or if you’re really weird, how much cash is in your envelopes.

    7. You cook your meals at home and frequently from scratch. Gasp! You also brown bag your lunches.

    6. You check out books and DVDs from the library because it’s FREE.

    5. You have some kind of emergency fund whether it’s as little as $500 or as much as 6-12 months of living expenses.

    4. You have your income taxes down to a science, owing or getting a refund of $100 or less.

    3. You know what a 401k, ETF, SEP and Roth or Traditional IRA is.

    2. You don’t pay bank fees and may even bank where you earn cash back on your debit card purchases.

     

     

     

    And the #1 reason you might be weird is……

    You know the year, month, day, hour and second that you will be DEBT FREE. (I’m looking at you @GrlRedBalloon.)

     

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | 5 Comments

  10. Look out Yakezie, here I come!

    January 27, 2012 by thriftyandfit

     

    I am not doing a very good job on my own with my goal of posting three times a week, so I decided that I need an incentive. Well, I found it!  I joined the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge. So far I’ve installed my Alexa toolbar. My, but that’s a scary big score! I’ve also installed a badge.  Now I’m here announcing my intentions, so that leaves posting 2-4 times a week.  Wish me luck! Oh, and I will definitely be looking into all the fantastic bloggers that are already a part of the Yakezie network.  I’ll be adding my favorites to my blogroll, once I figure out how to update it, that is.

     

    Please be kind. I am a WordPress newbie and I know things don’t look too pretty yet.  I am working with a graphic designer to get a logo designed so I should be unveiling that soon. Please feel free to offer constructive criticism or tips on how to fix the broken things. Thanks!

     

    Category Personal Finance | Tags: | 4 Comments

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