Jul

22

Festival of Frugality #135 - The Frugal All Over Edition





When it came time for me to host the Festival of Frugality, I was in the midst of announcing the Frugal Blog Network and getting back into my frugal groove… so it was only appropriate that I would be pondering frugality in all its forms. What occurred to me recently is that frugality is such a broad aim. It’s good for us to realize that we can all do better, and that no matter how frugal we are in one aspect of our lives, there are probably others where we could give more attention. And on that note, there are probably areas where we don’t WANT to be more frugal too ;)

So I thought it would be nice to present this carnival in its smaller categories of frugality - living frugally day-to-day, frugality in the home and with our vehicles, frugality when shopping or cooking and eating… and so forth. Enjoy!

The Really Good Stuff: Editor’s Picks

Frugal Life

Frugal Home

Frugal Eating

Frugal Shopping

  • Megan wrote Coupon Confessional posted at Counting My Pennies. I have the same dilemma, and months ago decided not to hunt for coupons. If I get one or come across one that I’ll use, by all means I will use it! But I don’t go hunting anymore… for me it’s just not worth the hassle to save a few dollars.

Frugal Fun

  • Todd presents Vacation Budgeting posted at HarvestingDollars. We all love vacations, but they don’t have to leave you in budgeting misery when you get back. An excellent post.

Finally Frugal: Living With the Money You Saved!

Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed this week’s selection! Next week my friends over at Master Your Card will be hosting. Have a great, frugal week!

Photos, in order of appearance, by Rob Lee, Matt Browne, doobybrain, Corey, Divine in the Daily, Shuttercat7, Mathias Pastwa, and John Althouse Cohen. Thanks, guys!

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Jul

21

CoPF is Live!





The 162nd Carnival of Personal Finance is up at Taking Charge! My post Playing the Credit Card Game was featured in the Credit section. Thank you for hosting, Emily! This is one of those carnivals that is really well organized and easy to read. I’m hosting the Festival of Frugality here tomorrow and I hope I can do just as well ;)

If you’re visiting from the carnival, welcome! If you’d like to be a part of the Antishay community, feel free to subscribe to my email updates for free, or sign up for my free RSS feed. Thank you for stopping by!

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Jul

20

FBN Roundup - I’ve Been Gone a Month *headdesk* Edition





It’s Sunday, and that means it’s time to round up what’s gone on in the Frugal Blog Network this week. However, since I’ve gone a month without reading any blogs, I thought I’d do a little more than just roundup in a list. There were some FANTASTIC posts in this last month between the three FBN members besides myself, and I feel strongly compelled to share ;)

From Frugal Babe, I liked the post Creative Cooking - Use What You Have. I am learning, slowly (very slowly) that I love to cook, and my approach to cooking is similar to hers. I love the idea of just making food with what you have lying around.

She also wrote Making it Work, all about how she improvised making bigger diapers for her baby son when he outgrew her original homemade ones. This post just made me feel warm all over - not the talk of diapers, but just how she can sew and will sew to spend less money. Most of you know I have a massive wardrobe stuffed with designer clothes. What you may not know is that I love to sew. There’s a reason that all of my clothes from years and years ago are still in perfect condition - I care for them. I sew up tears (that can be saved), reattach buttons and sequins and beads and alter hems and sleeves where need be. I’ve become so good at repairing clothes that you’d never know the items were years old. I think the ability and desire to sew are key in keeping clothing around for a long time. After all, I haven’t HAD to buy new clothes in ages. Not that that’s stopped me from buying more anyway… ;)

Dana from Not Made of Money wrote about how to successfully shop at thrift stores. This is a great post, and if you love clothes as much as I do, you’ll love this post as much as I did. As much as I shop at Nordstrom and other boutiques downtown, I shop at thrift stores and vintage shops even more. There’s nothing as satisfying at finding a great 1980’s Chanel dress tucked away in the back of some flea market shop for $9 (yes, true story… no, it didn’t fit). I am somewhat of a second-hand-store fiend, and these tips will help you become one as well ;) And carrying on with Frugal Babe’s theme, if you know how to sew and clean fabric and beads, etc., your old treasures can look gorgeous and new again :D

Dana also wrote Three Key Ways to Motivate Yourself to Cook at Home. I eat out only (maybe) once a month, so this isn’t such an issue for me - but I know that for a lot of people it is. Eating at home can save you hundreds of dollars a month. It helps that I eat a lot of non-cooked things like fruits and fresh veggies… the less I have to cook, the better ;)

And I have to mention her post Breaking Out of the Credit Card Loop because it is just great advice in a short and sweet article.

Andy from Tight Fisted Mister wrote two posts that are really in line with my values. One post was on his stuff. He said, “It is kind of amazing that even though I try to only buy stuff when it is really necessary I’ve still managed to accumulate a lot of stuff.” If you’ve read my series on stuff and clutter, you’ll like this short musing he wrote.

And finally, Andy also wrote about he’s contemplating living without a car, which I am all for. I work at home, so I only need a vehicle for a few errands. Because I don’t own a car personally (I drive Sean’s second truck to get around when I need to), I encourage anyone who CAN live car-less to do so. I am buying a motorcycle to have an even more fuel-efficient way of getting around when I do go out.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Next week’s roundup won’t be so long… I missed so much! Enjoy reading :D

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Jul

19

Inbox Clips #8: Playing the Credit Card Game





You all may remember the WWSD series where I had Q&A sessions with the readers - WWSD stood for “What Would Shanti Do?” I’ve decided recently that I really hate that title, and so I’ve changed the name to Inbox Clips… i.e. snippets of reader questions and comments that come to me and that I feel demand a proper public response. And yes, I did go all 1984 on you and change the names of the old posts. :)

One of today’s questions comes from a Flickr user, actually, whose photo I used in the post Playing the Credit Card Game. Regarding that same post, ShutterCat7 asked:

“And so, I used the card and got the points, and when the bill comes next week, I’ll pay it in full. “
Okay.
But.
Did you?
I’ve gone through similar reasoning and then not done what I said I was going to do about paying when the time came.

This is a great question, and one I demanded of other credit card users the whole time that I was in debt. I thought it would be good to answer this one publicly because many of you were probably asking the same question in your heads. Here is the response I sent, verbatim:

Well, I wrote the post this evening, so I can’t talk about paying the bill in full yet, because I haven’t. BUT - I worked on paying off my debt for 3 years and have become very religious in my budgeting and saving. I make $2500-$3500/month and live on $1400, including “fun money” that’s earmarked for silly spending and clothing and stuff. The rest goes into savings each month.

The $60 that I spent at Nordstrom was taken out of last month’s fun money (or as I usually call it, “blow money”) and put into savings as well, so that I didn’t spend it otherwise.

I pay all of my bills online the day that I get them, and have for years now… so the ritual is set. When the Nordstrom bill comes I will transfer $60 from savings into my checking, and then pay the bill direct from checking. It’s really become a system in my life that I rely on and believe in, and I have no doubt that I will pay the bill in full when it comes.

The problem before, years ago, was in my ridiculous spending habits. I would charge $400 to the Nordstrom card every WEEK, along with manicures and nights out barhopping. It was very immature and irresponsible, and I’ve completely left that lifestyle behind. Knowing my patterns now, and the fact that the money is already set aside to pay the bill, I know I will pay it.

Since writing my response, the bill has come. I got it from the mail as I was leaving for Sean’s for the weekend and I left it on my desk at home. When I get home Monday I will pay the bill, just like planned :)

The second question is really more of a comment, and it came in a great response to the same post. The Executioner (from Death to the Mortgage - I’ve never learned his name and I think he prefers it that way :P) wrote:

Wow. I’m surprised you’ve changed your stance a bit. You seemed to be adamant about shunning credit card use in your previous entries.

Credit card companies are pure evil. They advertise a lifestyle of wealth and success, but they really want you to become a debtor for life. However…

If you beat them at their own game (by incurring no finance charges while still reaping the reward benefits), you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you are sticking it to The Man. Bleeding the beast. [Insert your favorite metaphor here].

Haha - thank you so much for this comment. I WAS adamant and still am, really. I honestly don’t think I will use my credit cards much (I have two now, down from eleven), if at all.

My bigger point to the post which I didn’t explain clearly is that I will not be closing those two credit cards because I would like to be able to use them from time to time when need be. I will be shopping at Nordstrom regularly whether I have a credit card there or not. Everything I buy there will be something I can afford and have budgeted for with cash in my checking account. But I will buy with the Nordstrom card because then I get the points. As long as I don’t pay finance charges and pay on time, there’s really no harm done - and I get more out of the deal than I would if I just bought with straight cash. It really does feel good to know I can use the Nordstrom card for my gain, and not theirs.

As for the Bank of America card, I don’t see myself using that ever except in cases where I want to pay for something with money in my savings account. Dave Ramsey would encourage transferring the money ahead of time into checking and using my debit card, but my life isn’t always so calculated. (But somehow it is, too.) Using the motorcycle gear as the example again, I HAD the money, and I had already planned on spending it - but on a Sunday, the money was trapped in my savings account and I had to make a purchase that day. In that case, the credit card just got me out of a pinch :D

Thanks for reading! And keep sending in those questions and comments - I love responding, especially to those questions that really make me think. What can I say - I love a challenge ;)

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Jul

18

Readers, meet the Frugal Blog Network. FBN, meet my readers!





FBNA promised, today I have a fun announcement. I’ve joined up with three other bloggers to form the Frugal Blog Network. The network is comprised of myself and three other blogs - Frugal Babe, Not Made of Money, and Tight Fisted Mister.

If you read any of our blogs already, you will know that we’re an interesting group ;) We’re all at different points in our lives, and we each have a unique perspective on personal finance. But for all that we have in differences we also have in similarities: we all share a love of being frugal.

I think frugality is somewhat misunderstood in our culture. The word “frugal” seems to stir up thoughts of some stubborn old man who refuses to buy new shoelaces even though his are worn through. Unfortunately, this image is just so far from the reality of frugality.

There is a big difference between being frugal and being cheap, and while cheapness is just tacky and rude, frugality is a more clever sport. Living a frugal life means making wise choices with your purchases, thinking before buying, and being shrewd and skillful whenever the need to buy arises.

So with that, I hope I can bring a fun tone to the group and that you’ll join us in our adventures. If you’re not keen on subscribing to all the member blogs individually, we have a home base site for the Frugal Blog Network where our blogs are aggregated and you can subscribe by RSS to all the blogs at once.

Like any other network, we’re going to have weekly roundups of all the member sites on the weekends and probably do some group writing projects in the future as well. Until then, hooray! I’m excited.

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Jul

17

Playing the Credit Card Game





ByeBye Mastercard

You guys know me pretty well :). You probably remember how much I’ve ranted about the credit card companies and how evil they are. I’ve expoused hatred for credit cards, shown how I live without them, and vowed that I’ll never need to use a credit card again.

Well.

While I still really don’t agree with Visa, MasterCard, and the like (they’re like tequila and the hot afternoon sun; the mix doesn’t sit well with me), I’ve found that we can come to some compromises. I feel awkward even saying that. To you, I need to be perfect. I need to hold up my values. Right? It seems to be that my values have shifted a little.

While I still have many bones to pick with the major credit card companies over interest rates and collection policies, among other things, I’ve come to see that credit cards CAN be used as a tool.

I went to California to visit friends a few weeks ago and found myself in a conversation about credit cards. One of Sean’s friends confessed to having a lot of debt, and gave me the details on how he plans to get out. After talking for a while, I mentioned to him that I have no problem with him using credit cards; “after all, some people say they can be a useful tool, which can be overpowering if you don’t know how to use it.” To this he replied,

“Well, I don’t know if they’re a useful tool so much as a dangerous one. I feel like I’m holding onto a chain saw for dear life and I forgot to read the manual. My arms are shaking and I might drop it and cut off a finger any minute!”

Haha! What a perfect metaphor.

His reaction was exactly the one I had when I was still deep in debt. But - I am no longer in debt, and the journey to get out of debt taught me loads about money. I regard my finances with far more wisdom now than I used to, and I have a plan for my money. I never wonder where my money goes, because wherever it goes was already planned in the fates (budgeted for).

Anyhow, this is all a way to say that in the very recent past I have used two separate credit cards for two separate reasons, and I feel no guilt whatsoever. I feel like I’ve learned how to use the tool, and I’m comfortable being the operator of the machine.

The Points

I normally don’t give a care one way or the other about rewards and points associated with credit cards. The amount you get back for what you spend is usually pitiful, and not worth the risk you run when dealing with credit cards. But having said that, there is one exception - and by making an exception myself, I think each of you has probably one exception as well that is completely justifiable and that works in harmony with what you care about. What do I care about, and where is my exception? Nordstrom.

NordstromI buy a heck of a lot from Nordstrom, even now that I’m living frugally. I’ve written extensively before about why I buy quality things - they last longer, look better, keep up better, and sometimes are so great you never have to buy another again in your life. I buy all my makeup and shoes and much of my clothing and jewelry from Nordstrom.

Since what feels like the beginning of time (2005), I’ve had a Nordstrom credit card, and the rewards structure is pretty awesome. You get double points for every time you use the card at Nordstrom, and point whenever you use the card in general as well. Nordstrom also has sale days where you can get double-double points or triple points on your purchases. For every few dozen points you earn, they send you a $10 or $20 gift receipt in the mail that can be used to buy anything in the store. It’s not amazing, but it works for me, especially since I’m going to shop there anyway.

So two weeks ago I went to Nordstrom to buy some makeup - about $60 worth. I had the money in my checking account and went in expecting to swipe my Visa Check Card for the purchase, when I heard over the intercom that it was a triple points day. Normally, before having paid off my debt, I would have used my Nordstrom card anyway - but this day, I stepped back from the counter and sat down to think.

After mulling for a couple of minutes, I decided to use the card. After all, I had no balance carrying over. I also had no reason to use the card for anything other than points, because I had the cash. And so, I used the card and got the points, and when the bill comes next week, I’ll pay it in full. No harm, no foul, and next month I’ll have $10 to spend at Nordstrom any way I like (I’m eyeing a $20 pair of jersey leggings).

The Convenience

The other occasion I used my credit card was when I was out buying motorcycle gear. I had planned to go to the store and look around to get a feel for prices, and hadn’t intended on buying anything because I hadn’t yet transfered any of my savings for motorcycle-related expenses into my checking account. When I got to the motorcycle store, however, they were having a massive sale! I had priced out all of my gear weeks before online, and figured that I would buy everything online except the helmet because prices were so much cheaper than in the stores.

Hemlet!When I arrived at the store and everything was on sale, and it was the LAST day of the sale, I decided to take a look around. What I ended up finding were prices that were lower than those I’d found through extensive searching online! :D It was very cool and sort of like fate.

Once I had made the decision to buy some gear that afternoon, I also decided to use my Bank of America credit card with which to buy it. I hadn’t the money for the purchase in my checking account, and there wasn’t time to transfer the money from savings to checking before making the purchase. With a shrug and a sigh, I plucked out the last credit card I had paid off and not yet gotten around to closing and made the purchase.

Two days later the charge showed up online and I transfered the six-hundred and some-odd dollars into the credit card and that was that. Because the timing was essential in that transaction, I was able to use the credit card to spend my savings without drawing directly from savings.

So in conclusion, I have found that I can use credit cards. I will never use one unless the purchase was already budgeted for or saved for before-hand. And I will only ever use the cards to get points or to save me in a banking-timing pinch. I will never use a credit card to delay an expense because I don’t already have the money, and I will NEVER use a credit card for an impulse purchase that I will later regret. I’ve learned that much ;)

The fantastic picture at the top is by ShutterCat7.

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Jul

15

Life Moves On, and We’re Back In Business





Hello everyone ;)

Well I’m back, and with a passion. It would be completely appropriate if you didn’t believe me just now, but that’s deserved. I’ve been MIA for a month now. It feels like a heck of a lot longer than that; I feel like I’ve been debt-free for six months or even a year. Can you believe it’s only been two months?! The world moves so fast now.

If you’ve seen the progress bar on the right, you’ll note that I have officially saved up my goal of $3500. If I had kept going with all of my side businesses, as crazy and active as they were, I could have reached that goal a month earlier… but since ridding myself of debt, it’s been nice to relax and let go of money worries of all kinds - including the pressure to earn far above and beyond what I was earning at my “base” job at home.

On Saturday I bought all of my motorcycle gear and I am so psyched! I got a helmet and gloves and boots, and I got a summer jacket as well. (Summer jackets are cooler than winter ones, but still have all the armor in them, etc..) This fall I’ll buy a winter jacket and pants to match, but for now the summer jacket and jeans will suit me just fine. I’ve been shopping bikes on CraigsList and I think I’ve found a few that will work perfectly… I hope to buy one within the next week or two. (!!!!!!!)

The funny thing is, I budgeted $3500 for the bike plus gear, and I’m fixing to spend about $3k now. It seems my frugality extends even to “fun” purchases. I find it comforting to know that I’ve kept my habits. In fact, I live on less NOW than I did while getting out of debt, if you don’t count the “blow money” I now have budgeted monthly. It’s interesting to me how my frugal habits follow me around and continue to save me money, even now that it’s not so much a worry for me. I find it comforting :)

So that’s the news! I miss everyone, and will be spending the next couple of weeks reading through the thousands of posts that have gone by since I last read PF blogs in my Google Reader.

I have a great announcement coming Friday. Until then, it’s daily or almost daily posts on money once again. I am so happy to still have this blog here to use to ramble on about money. I think about it often, but I really needed a break and am happy I took one.

Have a great Tuesday!

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Jun

24

Develop a Habit of Saving [GP]





One of the most important things you can do for your personal finances is to get into the habit of saving. Setting money aside for short term, long term and emergency purposes can be a good way to ensure that you are always prepared. This is especially important in an economic climate like the current one.

Here are some steps you can take to get into the habit of saving:

  1. Create a monthly budget. Track your spending and your income and create a monthly budget. Consider items you can eliminate from the “spending” portion to free up money for saving. Re-think your spending habits so that you move “pay yourself first” to a higher priority position
  2. Start small. You may not feel that there is room in your budget for saving. The important thing, though, is to get into the proper habit. Even if you have to start small with only a few dollars a week, make sure that you set something aside.
  3. Increase the amount you save. Once you have figured out a budget, and started small, it is time to increase the amount you set aside. When you pay off debts — especially credit cards — take the money you used to pay on your obligations and put that into savings. This is a great way to increase the amount you save. Likewise, if you get a raise, make sure that you increase your savings.

When you make saving a priority, and you set aside money regularly, pretty soon saving can become a habit - something you do without having to think about it. Additionally, re-evaluation your budget so that you can make saving a priority forces you to modify your spending habits so that you are living within your means. This is a very important part of building wealth.

Some things to remember about saving:

  • Your retirement account and other investments are vehicles for saving — and they offer a way for you to grow your money faster.
  • For a more liquid emergency fund, consider a high yield online savings account, rather than a traditional low yield account at a brick and mortar bank.
  • How you treat your money sets an example for your children. Let your children see that you are saving, and tell them why you do it.
  • You save a little more by using cash and setting the change aside in a jar. When the jar is full, make an extra “savings payment” along with your regular savings deposit.

Miranda Marquit is a freelance writer and professional blogger. She also edits information on debt consolidation for DestroyDebt.com.

Thanks for reading, everyone! And thank you Miranda for a great post :)

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Jun

17

Congratulations to the CoPF!





Congratulations to the Carnival of Personal Finance on their anniversary! I was included in the latest carnival over at Consumerism Commentary, along with so many other great posts :) Have a look!

Happy birthday, CoPF :D

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Jun

14

Success is Perseverance





Success!

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how I’ve made the triumphs in my life thus far. What keeps coming back to me is perseverance. It’s not that I was always the best, or always the smartest… or even the one with the most “luck;” I had perseverance and it took me through to the end.

When you reflect on how you’re doing on your debt, remember: perseverance is key. There will be times when you don’t know how you’ll make it another month living so frugally, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You know that if you stick with it, you will succeed. Believe me, in my fourth month of using hotel shampoo and eating at home, I was sick to death of all this depriving myself of expensive things. :) But in the end, here I am… debt free, and loving it! ;)

When you find your desire to stick with it exhausted, you must find some way to keep yourself in check, keep yourself in line - so that you can persevere and eventually win. I find three things to help with perseverance: motivation, accountability, and distraction.

Motivation

I found motivation through so many different places, which was a good thing. Radio, books, blogs, and other people are all great ways to motivate yourself. Some days I just didn’t want to listen to Dave Ramsey, but on those days I could turn to the blogs I loved and read up some motivation. Or I’d talk to a friend that was pursuing debt-freedom just as I was. Find your motivation anywhere you can get it. Sometimes a movie about someone following their dream would fire me up just as much as a debt-reduction blog would, even though it had nothing to do with debt.

Accountability

We all want to be accountable to ourselves, but sometimes we slip up. Without someone else to nag us when we fall, or help us back up, we lose the support system that we sometimes honestly really need. Many people start a blog, or start vlogging on YouTube. You could have a friend or family member who you report to weekly or monthly. I had all of these things, and my ability to keep going skyrocketed as I gained each kind of accountability - as did my success. Having to report weekly - nay, DAILY - to hundreds of readers on my blog was incentive enough for me to stay on track. But having to report to my mom, who was working through her own debt at the time, sealed the deal. Who wants to disappoint their mother?

I am fortunate that my mom and I are so close, and that we can motivate each other all the time as friends do. If that’s not your case, find a friend who you can bounce your emotions and finances off of. Just make sure that friend has the same financial values as you do!

Distraction

Sometimes distraction is all we need to keep going :D I know I personally would put money out of my mind for weeks at a time, just to get a rest from the ever-constant money pressures. I would pay my bills like clockwork; let the snowball do it’s thing while I did mine. Friends, movies, and hobbies provide great distraction. But I found the best distraction to be other life projects.

When working on debt-reduction, we sometimes begin to think that getting rid of debt is all we’re about. Other aspects of our lives can take a serious back-burner to our debt-reduction goals, because we’re so intensely focused. If this is you (and I know for certain it was me), it would behoove you to take a step back and think about other parts of your life that could use your attention.

During my debt reduction, I took mental breaks to re-evaluate my career and eventually to change jobs. Later my focus shifted to my relationship with Sean, and we spend months working on “us” while the debt was being paid off in the background. Even when my attention shifted to snowflake businesses, which are an aspect of debt reduction, my focus was on the businesses: cultivating, bettering, and promoting them.

Shifting your attention around allows you to grow in all parts of your life - emotional, spiritual, physical, familial, relational, mental - while you keep going with your financial pursuits.

If nothing else, lolcats do a good job with distracting you for a few minutes and giving you a laugh :)

Perseverance brings success. Only those who keep at it hard enough and long enough will win. Keep motivated, keep yourself accountable; I think you’ll find that if you shift gears every now and again but keep going on with the debt-reduction at all costs, you’ll be the one who persevered and got what you wanted: debt freedom :D

Photo by Swami Stream.

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