My sister is one of those extreme couponer types. Seriously. She clips those suckers, peruses the weekly grocery circulars, and saves like a madwoman. I wouldn't say she's at TLC show status just yet, but give her time.
I, unfortunately, did not get this gene. Even MORE unfortunate is the fact that my husband didn't either. If you show my beloved two items that are exactly the same in every way except price, he will instinctively choose the more expensive thing. Always.
So when the two of us went grocery shopping today with the goal of spending as little as possible (while still buying healthy-ish things), we didn't exactly rock it. I counted up what we were spending in my head, and came within a few dollars at the actual check-out, but other than that, we didn't have any rules in mind. Still, I think we did a pretty good job.
Money spent: $61.10 (cash!)
Which means I have $14 left for the week. Which means that when Natalie and I go out for drinks on Thursday, it's going to be more like going out for drink. ;) But that's ok.
In the meantime, it may be time to go take a few couponing lessons from my financially intelligent sister.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Commencing Operation Pay Off Credit Cards
Money Spent Today:
$5.00- Optometrist co-pay
$1.20- Redbox rental
Total Spent:
$6.20
Pretty darn good for my first day of watching what I spend, huh?
What I Did Instead Of Buying Crap I Didn't Need:
-Knitted. I found this Martha Stewart magazine at the doctor's office, and it had directions for fingerless gloves (easy enough that I could figure it out at home without the instructions... yay me!)
-Cleaned. While watching HGTV, because nothing motivates me to clean like a bunch of perfect houses.
-Played Yahtzee with the kids. I won. ;)
$5.00- Optometrist co-pay
$1.20- Redbox rental
Total Spent:
$6.20
Pretty darn good for my first day of watching what I spend, huh?
What I Did Instead Of Buying Crap I Didn't Need:
-Knitted. I found this Martha Stewart magazine at the doctor's office, and it had directions for fingerless gloves (easy enough that I could figure it out at home without the instructions... yay me!)
-Cleaned. While watching HGTV, because nothing motivates me to clean like a bunch of perfect houses.
-Played Yahtzee with the kids. I won. ;)
Going Lean
Credit cards are bad.
It should probably go without saying that spending money you don't actually have is never a good idea, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing it since I got my first card one my first day in college either. (What? I got a free t-shirt in the deal... you can't go wrong with a free t-shirt, right?)
So now, here I sit, two husbands later (I've had a longer relationship with my Discover card than I have with any man), with many thousands in debt, and it's time to correct that.
Last night, hubby and I went over our finances, and realized that we have $20,000 in credit card debt. Granted, that includes a MAJOR house renovation, but still... 20 THOUSAND dollars? It stresses me out like you wouldn't believe. And so, we decided to do something about it, starting with NO MORE CREDIT CARDS. Well, ok, I don't think we'll actually go cold turkey. I actually get a discount for using my Visa card when I get gas (that's the only thing I use my Visa card for, and I pay it off every month), but other than that, I'm tired of being dependent on my credit cards, so I'm ready to try leaving them at home. My little experiment: If You Don't Have Cash For It, Don't Buy It.
Sounds pretty simple, actually. I just wish I had thought of it a little sooner.
And speaking of not having cash, the second part of our plan is to try to spend as little as possible. No more impulsive buying. No more going out shopping for clothes/jewelry/purses I don't need. I sat at our dining room table last night and looked around our large, open downstairs and thoughts, "We don't just have everything we need... we have far MORE than we need." We have a basement full of things that need to be gone through (and for the most part, donated), kids who have everything they could possibly want, a close and a bureau full of clothes that fit and look nice, enough food to live on for weeks. I have two large baskets filled to the brim with yarn, and yet every time I get a coupon from Joann Fabrics in the mail, I go buy more. Why? Because it's cheap, that's why. But I don't NEED it.
So, I'm attempting to keep myself motivated by updating this blog with what I spend each day, to see if I can spend as little as possible, and get rid of that credit card debt once and for all (yes, I am aware that I sound like a tv commercial. I'm ok with that.)
It should probably go without saying that spending money you don't actually have is never a good idea, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing it since I got my first card one my first day in college either. (What? I got a free t-shirt in the deal... you can't go wrong with a free t-shirt, right?)
So now, here I sit, two husbands later (I've had a longer relationship with my Discover card than I have with any man), with many thousands in debt, and it's time to correct that.
Last night, hubby and I went over our finances, and realized that we have $20,000 in credit card debt. Granted, that includes a MAJOR house renovation, but still... 20 THOUSAND dollars? It stresses me out like you wouldn't believe. And so, we decided to do something about it, starting with NO MORE CREDIT CARDS. Well, ok, I don't think we'll actually go cold turkey. I actually get a discount for using my Visa card when I get gas (that's the only thing I use my Visa card for, and I pay it off every month), but other than that, I'm tired of being dependent on my credit cards, so I'm ready to try leaving them at home. My little experiment: If You Don't Have Cash For It, Don't Buy It.
Sounds pretty simple, actually. I just wish I had thought of it a little sooner.
And speaking of not having cash, the second part of our plan is to try to spend as little as possible. No more impulsive buying. No more going out shopping for clothes/jewelry/purses I don't need. I sat at our dining room table last night and looked around our large, open downstairs and thoughts, "We don't just have everything we need... we have far MORE than we need." We have a basement full of things that need to be gone through (and for the most part, donated), kids who have everything they could possibly want, a close and a bureau full of clothes that fit and look nice, enough food to live on for weeks. I have two large baskets filled to the brim with yarn, and yet every time I get a coupon from Joann Fabrics in the mail, I go buy more. Why? Because it's cheap, that's why. But I don't NEED it.
So, I'm attempting to keep myself motivated by updating this blog with what I spend each day, to see if I can spend as little as possible, and get rid of that credit card debt once and for all (yes, I am aware that I sound like a tv commercial. I'm ok with that.)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Renovations...
Before:
After:
Our kitchen. Obviously, it's not completely done. There's still some door/window trim missing, and the baseboard trim as well. However, it's a HUMONGOUS improvement, no?
This room started out completely disgusting, and was walled off from the rest of the house. We started out by taking down the ceiling tiles, knocking out the walls, and making the whole downstairs open-concept. The first photo is just of the kitchen, and the second photo shows the view from the end of the dining area, looking in to the new kitchen.
Just like in every other room in the house, we took it down the the studs (bye bye horrible paneling, nasty linoleum floors, and non-working windows. Hello, brand new vinyl windows that open, actual insulation, hickory floors, and grey paint.
More to come... I'm off to pick the little girl up from Girl Scouts!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Oh my woooooooord.
Holy Guacamole, obviously I am totally awesome at follow-through. This blog doesn't rock so much, does it? At the very least, I figured I could update my last post, and let you (and by you, I am referring to my future self, because I'm pretty sure no one has seen this blog in years, and I'm the only one who ever reads it, if only to remind myself of things that happened in the past) know that we are now actually living in that house featured in the last post. The good news: It is no longer hideous. In fact, it's kind of WickedAwesome, thanks to my former-builder husband, who did almost everything himself (all while starting a brand-new engineering job). We're not even close to done-done, but I don't mind living with the things that still need finishing (ie. window and door trim on the first floor). The house does have a somewhat unfinished look about it, but it's ours, and I adore it. Also, we have a great big backyard that I still have to figure out how to adorn, and lots of future projects planned. My father-in-law keeps telling me that we'll never be done. I have a feeling he's right.
Now, at some point (and I'm going to take a wild guess here, and tell you (again, you being me) it will be months, if not years from now) I'm going to post pictures of the befores and afters. For now, I'll just tell you there are some HUGE changes. Like, we gutted this place down to the studs. And like, we knocked down every single interior wall in the downstairs so that we could have an awesome open living area. And like, there are bathrooms that don't make me want to shudder when I step into them.
My house makes me happy. And I have a feeling it will continue to do so for a long, long time.
Now, at some point (and I'm going to take a wild guess here, and tell you (again, you being me) it will be months, if not years from now) I'm going to post pictures of the befores and afters. For now, I'll just tell you there are some HUGE changes. Like, we gutted this place down to the studs. And like, we knocked down every single interior wall in the downstairs so that we could have an awesome open living area. And like, there are bathrooms that don't make me want to shudder when I step into them.
My house makes me happy. And I have a feeling it will continue to do so for a long, long time.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Home Buying 101
Dear Blog,
I have decided to renew my on-again, off-again relationship with you. I'm quite the fair-weather friend, in case you haven't noticed, and I really only update you when something good/big is happening in my life and I feel the need to share it with the whole world (ie. the one or two people who might actually read this at some point).
Now, in the last 9 months or so since we last spoke, things have changed a bit. For one, I'm married now. (No, Bloggy, don't feel guilty about not showing up for the celebration. First of all, it was fairly small, and secondly, *I* wasn't even there for most of it. You see, my lovely younger sister decided that my wedding day would be the PERFECT opportunity to give birth to the baby that still had another 3 1/2 weeks of marinating to do. So, instead of drinking it up with my brand-new husband, I ended up dropping everything to run off to the hospital to help welcome my very first nephew into the world. Hey, at least middle sis will never forget my anniversary).
Wow, Blog. That was a very long aside. This is why I should be keeping you up-to-date on what I'm up to. That way, I wouldn't need to fill my posts with parentheses that could have been their own entries. Aaaaanyway, I digress.
Somehow, in the last 9 months, my children have become involved in some after school activity almost every night of the week, and have busier lives than I do, which means that most weekday nights, I'm carting them all over creation so they can take part in basketball/gymnastics/girl scouts. And baseball is right around the corner. Blogster, it's gotten to the point where I DREAM of snowstorms that will close down whatever venue where said after-school activities are being held, but no such luck. We have had almost no snow. Two winters ago, we had record breaking snowfall, and this winter? Nothin'. What the heck is up with THAT?
What else, Blog-eriffic? Oh, yes. My cousin and my youngest sister are now also pregnant with little boy people, and are due in late March and late May respectively. I'm going to be an auntie times 2, and a... first cousin once removed? Something akin to that anyway. I'm not so great at figuring that kind of thing out. I could Google it, but eh. I'm too lazy.
So, Blog-my-friend, I've come to the reason for my renewed interest in you (oh, stop making me feel guilty. I haven't heard much from YOU lately either you know). The (still new, but not BRAND new any more) hubby and I have put an offer on a house, had it accepted, and are now just waiting to hear back from the bank. A HOUSE, Bloggy! Like real, actual adult people! With a huge half-acre backyard in downtown, and 2000 square feet and everything. The only downside, (and this is a fairly ginormous downside) is that this lovely house isn't actually SO lovely. It's actually kind of icky. Let me show you:
And also,
And oh yes, let's not forget my very favorite room in the entire house:
So basically, dear Blog, if we get this house, we're going to be extremely busy for a very, very long time. The good news is, I figure if we can renovate a house during our first year of marriage, and still love each other, then this union just might work out.
Thanks for not giving up on me Bloggy.
Sincerely,
Jamiegull
I have decided to renew my on-again, off-again relationship with you. I'm quite the fair-weather friend, in case you haven't noticed, and I really only update you when something good/big is happening in my life and I feel the need to share it with the whole world (ie. the one or two people who might actually read this at some point).
Now, in the last 9 months or so since we last spoke, things have changed a bit. For one, I'm married now. (No, Bloggy, don't feel guilty about not showing up for the celebration. First of all, it was fairly small, and secondly, *I* wasn't even there for most of it. You see, my lovely younger sister decided that my wedding day would be the PERFECT opportunity to give birth to the baby that still had another 3 1/2 weeks of marinating to do. So, instead of drinking it up with my brand-new husband, I ended up dropping everything to run off to the hospital to help welcome my very first nephew into the world. Hey, at least middle sis will never forget my anniversary).
Wow, Blog. That was a very long aside. This is why I should be keeping you up-to-date on what I'm up to. That way, I wouldn't need to fill my posts with parentheses that could have been their own entries. Aaaaanyway, I digress.
Somehow, in the last 9 months, my children have become involved in some after school activity almost every night of the week, and have busier lives than I do, which means that most weekday nights, I'm carting them all over creation so they can take part in basketball/gymnastics/girl scouts. And baseball is right around the corner. Blogster, it's gotten to the point where I DREAM of snowstorms that will close down whatever venue where said after-school activities are being held, but no such luck. We have had almost no snow. Two winters ago, we had record breaking snowfall, and this winter? Nothin'. What the heck is up with THAT?
What else, Blog-eriffic? Oh, yes. My cousin and my youngest sister are now also pregnant with little boy people, and are due in late March and late May respectively. I'm going to be an auntie times 2, and a... first cousin once removed? Something akin to that anyway. I'm not so great at figuring that kind of thing out. I could Google it, but eh. I'm too lazy.
So, Blog-my-friend, I've come to the reason for my renewed interest in you (oh, stop making me feel guilty. I haven't heard much from YOU lately either you know). The (still new, but not BRAND new any more) hubby and I have put an offer on a house, had it accepted, and are now just waiting to hear back from the bank. A HOUSE, Bloggy! Like real, actual adult people! With a huge half-acre backyard in downtown, and 2000 square feet and everything. The only downside, (and this is a fairly ginormous downside) is that this lovely house isn't actually SO lovely. It's actually kind of icky. Let me show you:
And also,
And oh yes, let's not forget my very favorite room in the entire house:
So basically, dear Blog, if we get this house, we're going to be extremely busy for a very, very long time. The good news is, I figure if we can renovate a house during our first year of marriage, and still love each other, then this union just might work out.
Thanks for not giving up on me Bloggy.
Sincerely,
Jamiegull
Friday, May 15, 2009
Day off? What's that?
So I haven't made soap yet. Those of you who know me well probably aren't too surprised by this. My life tends to be beyond busy, ESPECIALLY in the nice weather. And with last week being Mother's Day/my birthday, there was even more to do.
Also, I've decided that the yard is a higher priority. Seriously, I'll show you... if I can figure out how to post pictures again (it's been awhile since I've tried).
.jpg)
Here's the thing: I keep driving by houses of everyone else in the neighborhood (ok, ok, trailer park... you say tomato, I say to-mah-toe), and I'm having lawn envy. I want flowers. I want pretty green plants. I want cedar chips and some pretty little planter thingy. And I want it now. (Also, I'd really like it if Bill mowed the lawn). Sadly, I'm not one of those people who sits around planning something for weeks before I actually start working on it. No, last night I was sitting on the couch watching (what else) HGTV, and I thought, "Hey! I have the day off tomorrow! I'm gonna fix the yard!" And while I know I'm not going to perform any miracles, I think I might have a few ideas.
Wish me luck!
Also, I've decided that the yard is a higher priority. Seriously, I'll show you... if I can figure out how to post pictures again (it's been awhile since I've tried).
.jpg)
Here's the thing: I keep driving by houses of everyone else in the neighborhood (ok, ok, trailer park... you say tomato, I say to-mah-toe), and I'm having lawn envy. I want flowers. I want pretty green plants. I want cedar chips and some pretty little planter thingy. And I want it now. (Also, I'd really like it if Bill mowed the lawn). Sadly, I'm not one of those people who sits around planning something for weeks before I actually start working on it. No, last night I was sitting on the couch watching (what else) HGTV, and I thought, "Hey! I have the day off tomorrow! I'm gonna fix the yard!" And while I know I'm not going to perform any miracles, I think I might have a few ideas.
Wish me luck!
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