Huzzah!! No More Credit Card!!

   Woo Hoo!  My days of paying my credit card bill are at an end.  Monday evening I went online and paid off the remaining $249.  For the first time in my adult life I have no credit card and no credit card payment.
   When I was younger, I believed that credit cards were a part of life.  I fell for the line: "you need a credit card in case of emergency."  At first I rarely used it,  I maintained a zero balance for several years.  Then I needed a little extra one month, so I used the card.  I intended to pay it off just as soon as I had extra.  But the next month I was a little short as well.  I did not have enough income and I had no emergency fund.  Eventually, I stopped using the card, but I still had a large balance.  Some months I had to decide if I was going to pay my car payment or my credit card payment.  I needed my car, so the interest and penalties soared.   For the past couple of years I have cut costs, found a better paying job, and payed extra on my two cards.  About two years ago I paid off my Discover card, and now the visa is finally gone.

   Never again!  I am prepared now.  If an emergency were to happen today I do not need a credit card.  I have an emergency fund for that.  I will never again be under the thumb of a credit card company.  I can now handle emergencies without them.  Neither do I have to worry about my credit score, for I no longer intend to borrow money from anyone.  If I don't have the cash, I won't buy it.  And if I'm sort on money again, I have one less bill to pay each month.
   Now to work on the car payments.

Happy Healthy Halloween

    Halloween is less than a week away.  It gestures in a new holiday season with all of the temptations that entails.  If you are not prepared yet, now is the time to get ready.  As a kid I always loved Halloween. I really loved to dress up in a costume (still do) and pretend to be something I'm not for a night.  Most of all I loved the candy.  We would always go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and usually had a fall festival at church.  We would come home with those little orange pumpkins stuffed with candy.  One year my sister my sister won a cake walk, so we also carried home an enormous caramel cake (yum!).  Now I am older and finally have to grow up and worry about things like weight and "will this give me diabetes?"  I look at children today and the things they eat and I worry about the next generation.  The question I ask myself is:  Can I in good conscience distribute a food to children that is so profoundly unhealthy?  I have no answer to this.  I do love to answer the door and see all the cute little kids dressed in their little costumes.  I love watching their faces light up when I give them the candy.  Plus it is only once a year.  However, Christmas is once a year as well, so is Thanksgiving, and birthdays, and many other events all of which involve food.  The candy we distribute hopefully will not be eaten in one night, but over a period of days, weeks, or even months.  There is no way to know exactly how many kids will come to your door, so  you may very well have leftover candy, lying around begging to be eaten.
   So what can be done?  I have been trying to think of alternatives to sugary candy, but I don't want to be the woman who hands out toothbrushes.  I want kids to like what I give them.  I remember as a child that some people would give out boxes of raisins.  This is ok, but there are many kids who don't like raisins.  Even if they do, it's a bit of a let down to receive raisins when you were expecting candy.  Another possibility is to buy sugar-free candy.  This is slightly better, but falls short of being called healthy.  Companies such as Oriental Trading Company, offer small toys in bulk.  This way the kids can have something fun to play with, and I would avoid giving them the candy.  One final option comes from something I received in my little pumpkin as a kid.  I seem to remember someone handing out roles of pennies.  I liked this one, because I could do anything I wanted with it.
   Whether or not I hand out healthy alternatives, the kids will still get plenty of sugary snacks from others. And, when I have children, I am sure I will dress them in little costumes and take them trick-or-treating.  But, I do believe that I can make a difference no matter how small it is.

DIY Savings: Detergent

 In the quest to save money, DIY (Do it yourself) can sometimes save a bundle.  I plan on sharing various DIY money savers in future blogs.  Today, I will focus on a recent project of mine, making my own detergent. I have heard of making my own cleaners many times, and finally decided to try it.  About a month ago, I bought my ingredients and tried it out.  So far, it works just as well as the store bought variety and costs a lot less.  If you do a google search for home made detergent, you can find a dozen recipes.  The one I recommend is at a website called DIY Natural.  The directions are very simple and there are only three ingredients.  Plus is is made with simple natural ingredients for those of you who worry about chemicals.
      I also plan on making my own dishwashing detergent once my supply runs out.  Since it uses many of the same ingredients as laundry detergent, I will not have to spend any money.  I found a recipe that looks good at yahoo finance.  I will let you know how it works.
How do you DIY to save money?

Update: I tried the dishwashing detergent and it works great

Ode to a Timer

  My timer is awesome!  When my time, like a wild beast tries to runaway, my timer helps to keep it.  Sometimes, a task seems so large I fear I shall never finish.  My timer shows me that I can at least do fifteen minutes.  And if this time is not sufficient, I will try again tomorrow and the next day until it is complete.   My timer allows me to spend a little time on the unimportant and free time up for what is necessary.  So at the end of the day when I lay my head down, I know I may not have done all, but I have done what I could.  My home is improving fifteen minutes at a time.

Sample Schedule (Timer): (not my actual schedule)
5:00 Leave work
5:30-7 Exercise
7-7:30 Prep dinner
7:30-8  Eat Dinner
8-8:15 (15) Clean up
8:15-8:30 (15) Vacuum
8:30-8:45 (15) Clean Bathrooms
8:45-9 (15) Clean Hot Spots
9 -11  Relax

* Timer method adapted from flylady's Declutter 15 minutes a day and Home Blessing Hour.

How do you make time to clean?

Why I Joined a Gym

A couple of months ago, I mentioned in a post that I was considering joining a gym.  The problem is that I am not only trying to get healthy I am also trying to get out of debt.  I am cutting back on any extra expenses in order to use the money I save to pay down on my debt.  So why did I join a gym?  Why didn't I just start jogging in the mornings or use my workout videos?
  Everyone has there own set of challenges.  I have tried and failed to loose weight many, many times.  Before I started this time, I first thought back on all of my previous attempts to figure out what went wrong.  The answer I decided was accountability.  When I work out on my own, I tend to get caught up in other things and never get started.  It's not that I don't like to work out, I do, but I get caught up in a TV show or a book or realize I need to do the dishes.  The next thing I know it is time for bed and I still haven't worked out.  The times in my life when I have worked out the most consistently where when I had someone to work out with.  I couldn't put it off if I had someone waiting for me.  In grad school, I went to the gym with my friend Vanessa.  When I live overseas, my roommates and I took karate.
   So what does this have to do with the gym?   Well, I needed someone to work out with.  Most of my friends live too far away to work with.  As for the friends who live nearby, I have a crazy schedule and so do most of them.  I might be able to do one or two days a week with them, but that is not enough.  So I thought of the gym.
   The gym I go to is called Omni and it is right across the road from my apartment.  I have actually been a member in the past so I was already familiar with the facilities.  The deciding factor were the classes.  Classes meet at the same time every week.  Unlike working on my own, I can't put them off.  As I keep going to the same classes, I get to know people and they will know if I do not show up.  I have picked three classes I can attend on a regular basis and I try not to miss.  So far it's working.  I am working out 3-4 days a week for the first time in years.  My clothes are fitting better, and I feel stronger.
   The gym may cost a little extra per month, but I believe that the benefits to my health far out way the price. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.   How do you workout?

TIP:  If you do decide to join a gym, it may be possible to talk their price down.  I paid no joining fees and my monthly payments are less than they quoted, because I talked them down.

Saving On Groceries with Angel Food

   Has anyone seen the prices at the grocery store?  I'm looking at the Harris Teeter sales for this week and what strikes me is how high the sale prices are.  So when I try to shop on a budget, I often find myself buying a lot of carbs and not a lot of protein.  One way I combat this is through Angel Food Ministries.

About 90% of this is from Angel Food

   Angel Food Ministries was founded in 1994 by Joe and Linda Wingo of Monroe, GA.  It is a ministry to provide affordable food to people across the United States.  The concept is simple.  Every month Angel Food publishes a menu on it's website.  http://www.angelfoodministries.com/  This menu has several options or boxes. This month the boxes range from $17 (Just 4 Me- After School Fruit and Veggie Box) to $55 (Pastor Joe's Premium Box).  You can buy one box or a combination of boxes.  This is open to everyone.  They do not check family size, income level, or background.  There is a deadline for order's each month.  To find out what it is you must first find a host site.  The host sites are primarily churches (for my non-christian friends you don't have to be a christian for this I've never had anyone preach at me) you simply type in your address and chose the location most convenient for you.  This site will have list it's deadline and pickup time.  In my area there are about three host site's nearby.  The good thing about that is I can choose the one with the best pickup time for me.  For example, this month my online order deadline is August 21 and my pickup time is August 27 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.  It is extremely important to pick up on time.  They will not save the food.  Any boxes leftover will be donated to a food kitchen.

  So is it worth the trouble?  Well that depends.  Usually the answer is yes.  I look at the menu every month an d decide.  But as a comparison,  let's look at this month's menu and compare it to Harris Teeter sales.  I tried to pick Harris Teeter sales that were similar to what Angel Food was serving.  This month:

 Angel Food's Bread of Life                                   Harris Teeter

1 deli sliced ham                                                    Deli sliced meat: $3.50

Roger Wood Sausage Dogs                                   Beef Franks $4.50

Ground Beef                                                          Ground Beef $7.99

Boneless Chicken Breast 1.5lbs                              Boneless Chicken breast $2.47lb (1.5lbs=$3.71)

Chicken leg quarters 4lbs                                       Chicken Drumsticks $1.27lb (4lbs=$5.08)

Ground Turkey 1lb                                                 Frozen Turkey Breast $1.37lb (1lb=$1.37)

 Steak Burgers 1.5lb                                               Boneless Chuck Steak $3.97lb (1.5lbs=5.96)

Mac and Beef                                                         Quick Sides $3.99

10 other items                                                       

Total: 18 items                                                        Total: 8 items

Cost: $35                                                                Cost: $36.11

I hope this helps.  How do you save money on groceries?

UPDATE:  Sadly, since writing this post Angel Food Ministries has gone out of business.  They will be greatly missed.  I will write again if I can find another similar program.

UPDATE: Organizing my time to organize my home

  In my last blog, I shared a link to print out an awesome planner.  The only problem was how to make something that I could carry in my purse.  I came up with a simple solution.

1. I printed out enough pages for the rest of the year (about 35 pages).  I folded each in half.
2. I laminated a plain black piece of paper. and folded it.
3. I placed the pages inside the black laminated paper.  
4. I punched wholes in the crease on each side
5. Finally, I used a ribbon to tie my book together.

    This seems to be working well.  It was cheap and easy to assemble.  What are some of your money saving DIYs.