Going for Not Broke

I've taken a week off in September to finish some home improvement projects that have been in progress for far too long. My challenge between now and then will be to both set aside and earn enough to buy the supplies without having to charge anything. Our biggest expense will be paint. We've got to paint our living room ceiling, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom to have our home "finished." Hopefully we'll be able to get that far with it, but my fear is we'll need longer than a week to complete it all because several walls need to be repaired in places first. I've got a freelance project in progress right now that will give us the bulk of what we'll need, but I don't think it will cover everything. Plus, I have to make sure I don't spend any of it between now and then on "wants."

I've registered to be a consigner at the upcoming consignment sale . I have about a month to get everything ready and to decide what's going and what's staying. It really has amazed me how quickly my daughter has outgrown her clothes and even some of her toys.

Starting today, each Friday I'd like to talk about the homemade frozen dinners I've been making. Some weeks I'll give recipes and reviews of how they fared as a frozen entree and other weeks it might be on a related topic. This week, I'd like to showcase the storage containers I bought. They are made by Target (the chain's Up & Up brand). They came in multi-packs (I think there were four in each, maybe five) for less than $2. I love the price, and I  like their shape, because its similar to that of the dishes in store-bought frozen dinners. So far, they've worked out pretty well, although I've since read some reviews online that say that they don't hold up well in a dishwasher. (We have one, but it doesn't work well so I do all of my dishes by hand.) What I personally don't like about them is a problem I anticipated: Once you put something with tomato sauce in them, they are permanently stained red (as you can see in this photo).

I cashed in a bunch of my My Coke Rewards points. I got a bookmark with picture frames in it that we'll give as gift to one of our daughter's grandmas, though I'm not sure which yet. I also bought a couple of extras for myself, a light that I can use while I'm beading and a steamer for healthier cooking. My Rewards Points are at a very low level right now, but I'm hoping that I can build them up and that a few more items that would be good for gifts might become available between now and the holidays. For the past few years, I've been trying to get as much shopping done early as possible, which means I'm typically done before Black Friday, but it's worth it to me to beat the crowds.

The last time my husband and I had a garage sale, it went very well. It was in a parking lot of a local church, held in conjunction with about 10 other families. We came out with a couple hundred dollars in our pocket, but it was hot and a very long day, and we decided that was our last. Luckily, though, my sister-in-law gave me a heads-up on an opportunity to unload some of the baby items and clothes my daughter has outgrown. (I am just amazed at how quickly she outgrows things!) Hopefully, I can get everything rounded up in time and make a few bucks (which will likely go toward more things for her.) I've thought of taking stuff to consignment stores before, but when I look at my own clothes, I can't think that anyone would want to buy them. Baby clothes, though, should sell pretty good. I just need to make the time to go through it all.

As I mentioned in last Friday's post , our electric bill has been less than it was a year ago since February.  After reading about it, my husband asked if the difference each month was about the same, so I got curious about the same thing and what the overall total difference is: February 2011: $167.67 February 2012: $154.66 Difference: $13.01 March 2011: $110.34 March 2012: $105.50 Difference: $4.84 April 2011: $99.56 April 2012: $65.46 Difference: $34.10 May 2011: $125.07 May 2012: $71.08 Difference: $53.99 June 2011: $128.07 June 2012: $113.97 Difference: $14.10 July 2011: $144.71 July 2012: $129.16 Difference: $15.58 Year-over-year difference so far: $135.62. I realize that the bulk of the difference could be attributed to a number of variable -- the weather this year compared to last, the rate the electric company is charging us, etc. But, because it is consistently lower, I think the changes we've made do factor in some. I feel good!

Because I worked a few extra shifts recently, my check was a higher than usual. I haven't seen a whole lot of overtime since I had my daughter -- maybe an hour here or an hour there -- so it's nice to have a little extra on my check. It allows me to send an extra $175 to one of my credit cards. It's too bad I don't get that kind of extra on every check.

But I was still hoping that our electricity bill would drop a little this month. Our billed amount, however, is $129 and some change, higher than last month's $114. To try to keep this in perspective, though, I scrolled back through my older bills. Last year for the same time period, we were billed $144 for our electricity, $15 more than our current bill. As a matter of fact, I can see that we've had a year-over-year improvement for every month since February, which is when I started trying to focus on paying less. Maybe the changes we've been trying to make have been helping more than I realize. It's not as much as I had hoped, but that means we're still better off than if we'd made no changes at all. Just recap for new readers what those changes are, my husband and I have: Unplugged the landline phone, which was cordless and required an electrical charger. Unplugged the answering machine. Without a landline phone, this was no longer necessary. Switc

As I go through my "Coach Yourself Thin" book (first post on it is here ), I think first about whether the topic the authors are addressing applies to how I view weight loss, then I ask myself, "Does this apply to how I try to tackle my finances too?" When I came across a section that elaborates on how some people set unrealistic goals for getting themselves back to a healthy weight, it suddenly occurred to me that I've never done the math when it comes to our debt. Is it even possible for my husband and me to pay off all of our debt before our daughter starts school? So, I busted out the calculator and did a quick figure. First of all, it's been a few months since I've seen our total debt, so the best I can do on the fly is guess and base it on the progress we've been able to do in a month's time in the past. At this point, it doesn't look like it. We'd have to make more than $2,000 in payments toward the principal of what we ow

The break room where I work is a dumping ground for unwanted magazines. Quite often, my co-workers will recycle the magazines they subscribe to by scattering them about the break room for people to either pick up and keep or just browse through while having lunch. Every now and then, a Cooking Light magazine will catch my eye. One day last week, I picked up an issue because it seemed to have quite a few healthy foods that could easily be cooked in large batches. Whether they'd freeze and reheat well are another story. The recipes I'm going to try are Cheesy Canadian Bacon & Potato Casserole, Enchilada Casser-Ole! and Light-But-Hearty Tuna Casserole from the February/March 2009 issue. I'll need to modify them a little for them to appeal to my picky-eater husband, but they all sound pretty interesting. In future posts, I'll give a recipe I've tried as a frozen dinner and review how well it did. I also welcome any suggestions from readers who also make thei

I always keep boxes of forks and spoons in my desk at work so that I don't have to remember to take flatware back and forth to work for my lunch. I didn't trust myself not to lose them in transport. However, as I near the bottom of the fork box, it occurs to me that I've been taking my food storage containers back and forth with me for weeks now while I've been making my own frozen dinners. I've remembered my dishes every day; why wouldn't I remember a fork or spoon? Therefore, I've decided that once the boxes in my desk are empty, I won't buy any more. It won't be a big savings, because it takes me about six months to go through a box, but it's a savings nonetheless.

One of the gifts I received for my birthday a few weeks ago was an Amazon gift card, which I used to get an e-subscription for my Kindle and an e-book called "Coach Yourself Thin: Five Steps to Retrain Your Mind, Reclaim Your Power, and Lose the Weight for Good," by Greg Hottinger and Michael Scholtz. The book has excellent reviews on Amazon, so good, I'm a little skeptical of them. Seeing a book with 80 reviews and an average five-star rating is extremely rare; I'm not even sure I've seen that before on any other book I've sought out. I've just started it, and so far, I like it. I can see a correlation between some of the thought patterns described and my own struggles with weight loss. I also think some might apply to how I view my finances, too. I haven't reached any of the "five steps" yet, but I'm wondering if some might translate into ways that I could coach myself financially as well. We'll see.

During a stress-filled day at work Tuesday, I gave in to temptation and spent money on a soda and a package of cookies. Again Thursday, I did the same, only this time, there was no stress. I just gave in. Well, I'm determined not to let either incident discourage me. I would guess that on average, I spend about $15 a week buying mostly Diet Coke out of vending machine at work, with an occasional snack thrown in. This workweek so far, though, I've spent $4.20. Also, unlike most weeks, I've made no trips to a store to buy fill-in items, which always result in extras that were neither budgeted for nor necessary. My point is that I'm disappointed in myself that I've spent some money, but in a weird way, I feel good, too, because I know I've done better -- a lot better -- about my spending than I normally do. I plan to finish both today and Saturday without spending a cent. I feel confident I can make it.

but, I just learned that it's possible to make money selling photos I've taken to some stock photo websites. Of course, the sites would have to accept my work, and I don't have tons of time to look for things that catch my eye, but perhaps keeping my camera handy may earn me at least a little extra income. Sites pay about a quarter each time someone downloads your image. This is definitely something I'm going to keep in mind.

This is the one I really need to work on. Budgeting:  None of the changes I've mentioned in previous status reports will matter much if I don't make an effort to reign in my spending. My first attempt was using the envelope method, which lasted about two weeks. For those unfamiliar with the envelope method, I'll do a quick summary. You divide what you have allocated for each budgeted category into an envelope, and pay for those items out of their assigned envelope. When the envelope is empty, you stop spending in that category. My problem with the envelope method was twofold. I had to make an effort to go to the bank to get money in the desired denominations, which I kept putting off, and just because an envelope says it's for gas money doesn't stop me from dipping into it to buy myself a soda. Don't get me wrong; I think this is an excellent way to budget; it just didn't work for me. The second thing I tried I'm still in process of trying: Establi

A few notes on what's worked and what hasn't. Groceries . Aldi has its drawbacks. I can't get everything I need there, it can be really crowded at times, and a few of its foods (eg., canned ravioli) just aren't as tasty as other brands, but without fail, I spend less when I shop there. For someone like me who has trouble mastering the art of extreme couponing, Aldi does a good job of trimming the grocery expenses. I'd still like to trim it more, but I think that will require some more creative meal planning.  Status: Some Money Saved. Meal Planning . I began establishing a menu and then shopping to the menu a few years before my daughter was born, so this is nothing new. However, lately I've been trying to change up what I fix so that I make more foods that can be done in bulk. This way, I'll have leftovers for another day and leftovers for frozen dinners for when my husband and I are at work. I'm still experimenting with this, but so far, I think it

I've made it through two whole days so far without spending even a cent. I feel good!

An update on what's working and what's not: Phone.  After telling my husband I want to get rid of the landline for more than a year but being too chicken to tell AT&T, I finally made the call in June. We received a prorated bill that was about half of what we normally pay, but starting next month, we should be saving $70.   Status: Money Saved .   Electricity.  Because we no longer have a landline phone, we no longer need our cordless phone charging base and answering machine. Unplugged. Bedroom TV that didn't work well? Unplugged. Second alarm clock in bedroom? Unplugged. I am under no delusions that those items together will net hundreds in savings over the year, but I hope to see a noticeable difference. On a month to month basis, I don't see much. Perhaps an even bigger draw on our electricity is the home computer. My plan was to turn off its power strip when it's not in use. I remember about once a week. My husband, though, remembers quite often. I nee

Sunday was my first day of my no-spend week. I made it through that day without spending anything. Just six more to go.

I thought I'd do something a little different for the next few posts and give an update on what's worked and what hasn't (either for external reasons or just because I didn't stick with it) in the things I've been trying to get rid of my debt. I started to put it all in one post, but it was too long. I didn't even want to read that much. Therefore, I've broken it down into chunks. So, here is the first entry: Cable.   In May, I bought a Roku, which streams programming to our TV via the Internet. There is plenty of free stuff to watch, including news programming, hundreds of movies, fitness programs, etc., but it isn't the same as having cable. Therefore, I also got subscriptions to Netflix and HuluPlus, both $7.99 a month, so that we can watch current shows we like that air on ABC, NBC, Fox and Comedy Central. The subscriptions still don't get us access to shows on CBS, TNT, AMC or other extended cable channels via the Roku without paying extra.

Next week is when I plan to not spend anything at all. To get ready, I tried my best to make sure we'll have enough groceries to get us through until next Saturday night. I bought, for instance, formula for our daughter even though we don't need it now, but I know we will before the next two weeks are up. I even bought an extra can and a pack of diapers in case the day care needs it. I hope we're able to do it for a whole week. Hopefully getting through that week will inspire me to do the same whenever I can. I think if I cut out my incidental spending, I just might see a big difference in what we're able to put back and toward our debt.

Happy Independence Day, everyone! I hope you have a good day celebrating with your family and friends! On Monday, my husband, daughter and I took a drive so that we could use a Red Robin gift card we got last Christmas for lunch. The good news: The food was very tasty. The bad news: We spent just as much as we do when we dine out at home, even after the gift card was applied, not to mention the gas to drive that far. To be fair, we ordered dessert, which we don't typically do, and we ordered food for our daughter, too, which in most cases, we just feed her from our plates, but it was still amazing how quickly it all added up. It was a nice family outing, but we spent a lot more than if we had just stayed closer to home.

As I mentioned, I opted for GoDaddy's data storage service to replace the Apple iDisk. I did several online searches looking for a review of GoDaddy's data storage and couldn't find anything, so I figured it was OK. Apparently, I should've just been searching for GoDaddy in general. I signed up for the service Saturday. Since then, I've received three phone calls from an unknown number, so I didn't answer. However, because so many had called from the same place, I figured I needed to find out who was calling me.  So I Googled the number and found it belongs to GoDaddy's sales department. I logged into my account and looked for an option to not receive sales calls from GoDaddy. I could tell the company not to send me emails or text messages, but nothing stops phone calls. I sent them an email letting them know that I am not happy about getting sales calls from them. Hopefully, they stop. If not, I will find another company's services to use. The