a note from Tilly Titewad ...
I just discovered "Communing With Fabric", a well-written blog with good instructional segments for creating fashions with flair.
Hope you enjoy it too ~~~
http://communingwithfabric.blogspot.com
Monday, May 30, 2011
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Holiday spending
a note from Tilly Titewad ...
Are you dreading the season of overspending? I sometimes wonder what ever happened to the real spirit of the holidays ~
We all want to have fun and enjoy our friends this time of year, and there are lots of social events to attend, but it takes all the joy out of celebrating if you're still paying for your 2007 & 2008 celebrations in 2009 when it starts all over again. That kind of stress is a real kill-joy!
Try a simple formula that I just discovered ...
1) Spend no more than 1.5% of your annual take-home income this year. For example, if your household's take-home is $62,000, your limit would be $930 (62,000 x .015) - you could round up to $950 for your budget. That limit includes the cost of gifts (+ taxes & shipping), parties, dining out, travel, etc.
2) Pay for purchases with cash or check (except for online or catalog orders where using your credit card affords protections not available if you use your debit card).
The goal is to incur no more debt than you can pay off in two months. If you put the whole $950 on a credit card at 18% interest, you would have to pay $87.10 on just that part of your balance to pay it off in 12 months and that $950 would turn out to cost you $1,045.20. Oops! That means you would not have it paid off before you have to begin spending for next year's holidays. You can do your own calculations using the calculator you find by searching 'amortization schedule' online.
You'll be surprised at your own creativity when you follow the 1.5% rule. Gift giving takes on a whole new meaning.
* What does Uncle Joe really need or want? Maybe he likes to wash his car. Buy a bucket, put in a bottle of his favorite car wash & a mitt. If he can't do it himself any more, you could promise to wash his car on the first Saturday of each month all year long. The visit, the exercise and outdoors, and the holiday gift will all be remembered long after a bottle of Old Spice after shave would have been gone.
* Does Aunt Millie really want another rhinestone brooch? Maybe she'd rather have a manicure. You could wrap her favorite nail polish in a fancy kerchief and add a card promising to do her nails once a month all year. You may find you enjoy the visits more than you ever expected.
I do make some gifts, but only because I want to make them. With the prices of sewing & crafts supplies, it is no longer a cost-saving thing to do like it was when I was a kid.
There are also some online sites for deals and coupons to help with shopping anytime of the year. Everyday stuff like Papa Murphy's pizza, Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, JoAnn Fabrics and lots of others as well as specialty stores ---
http://www.bradsdeals.com/
http://dealnews.com/
http://slickdeals.net/
http://www.fatwallet.com/
http://www.shipgooder.com/ - for shippping cost comparisons. It gives you a spreadsheet to compare various shippers' rates. In the few samples I tried, I found FedEx to be cheaper than the post office.
I've made and retained a list of what we gave to whom for the last ten years. Actually I started the list so I wouldn't repeat last year's gift to any of our ten grandchildren! I look for bargains all year long and stash the presents with the recipient's name and my list for this year.
When 'Black Friday' rolls around, I don't feel compelled to rush out and get trampled in the crowds. If I want to join the fracus, I have a lot of fun doing it because I'm not stressed out trying to buy a cajillion gifts and running up my credit card.
Come February when you have all this year's holiday partying paid off, believe me, it will feel really good. It will feel even better when next year's holidays approach and you realize you're starting without a hangover of last year's debts.
I hope you'll try this budget trick and keep the holiday simple so you can more fully enjoy the holiday spirit with friends and family every year.
Now I'll go fold some paper airplanes from the junk mail we get and call that your Christmas present! ha!ha!
Shopping Season will soon begin ~ ready, set, go!
Are you dreading the season of overspending? I sometimes wonder what ever happened to the real spirit of the holidays ~
We all want to have fun and enjoy our friends this time of year, and there are lots of social events to attend, but it takes all the joy out of celebrating if you're still paying for your 2007 & 2008 celebrations in 2009 when it starts all over again. That kind of stress is a real kill-joy!
Try a simple formula that I just discovered ...
1) Spend no more than 1.5% of your annual take-home income this year. For example, if your household's take-home is $62,000, your limit would be $930 (62,000 x .015) - you could round up to $950 for your budget. That limit includes the cost of gifts (+ taxes & shipping), parties, dining out, travel, etc.
2) Pay for purchases with cash or check (except for online or catalog orders where using your credit card affords protections not available if you use your debit card).
The goal is to incur no more debt than you can pay off in two months. If you put the whole $950 on a credit card at 18% interest, you would have to pay $87.10 on just that part of your balance to pay it off in 12 months and that $950 would turn out to cost you $1,045.20. Oops! That means you would not have it paid off before you have to begin spending for next year's holidays. You can do your own calculations using the calculator you find by searching 'amortization schedule' online.
You'll be surprised at your own creativity when you follow the 1.5% rule. Gift giving takes on a whole new meaning.
* What does Uncle Joe really need or want? Maybe he likes to wash his car. Buy a bucket, put in a bottle of his favorite car wash & a mitt. If he can't do it himself any more, you could promise to wash his car on the first Saturday of each month all year long. The visit, the exercise and outdoors, and the holiday gift will all be remembered long after a bottle of Old Spice after shave would have been gone.
* Does Aunt Millie really want another rhinestone brooch? Maybe she'd rather have a manicure. You could wrap her favorite nail polish in a fancy kerchief and add a card promising to do her nails once a month all year. You may find you enjoy the visits more than you ever expected.
I do make some gifts, but only because I want to make them. With the prices of sewing & crafts supplies, it is no longer a cost-saving thing to do like it was when I was a kid.
There are also some online sites for deals and coupons to help with shopping anytime of the year. Everyday stuff like Papa Murphy's pizza, Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, JoAnn Fabrics and lots of others as well as specialty stores ---
http://www.bradsdeals.com/
http://dealnews.com/
http://slickdeals.net/
http://www.fatwallet.com/
http://www.shipgooder.com/ - for shippping cost comparisons. It gives you a spreadsheet to compare various shippers' rates. In the few samples I tried, I found FedEx to be cheaper than the post office.
I've made and retained a list of what we gave to whom for the last ten years. Actually I started the list so I wouldn't repeat last year's gift to any of our ten grandchildren! I look for bargains all year long and stash the presents with the recipient's name and my list for this year.
When 'Black Friday' rolls around, I don't feel compelled to rush out and get trampled in the crowds. If I want to join the fracus, I have a lot of fun doing it because I'm not stressed out trying to buy a cajillion gifts and running up my credit card.
Come February when you have all this year's holiday partying paid off, believe me, it will feel really good. It will feel even better when next year's holidays approach and you realize you're starting without a hangover of last year's debts.
I hope you'll try this budget trick and keep the holiday simple so you can more fully enjoy the holiday spirit with friends and family every year.
Now I'll go fold some paper airplanes from the junk mail we get and call that your Christmas present! ha!ha!
Shopping Season will soon begin ~ ready, set, go!
Paying Bills
a note from Tilly Titewad ...
Paying bills is one thing that has always seemed to be a lot of work, satisfying when it's done but not fun to do. Figuring out how to manage the beastly chore has taken me some time.
First, the paper clutter - yuk! The new way? I open mail at the kitchen counter as soon as I walk through the door. Junk mail and trash goes in the burn box. Magazines are placed by our chairs. Documents requiring signature (proxy ballots, etc) are handled immediately and the reply letter put in my tote bag to mail out the next day. Most of the clutter is eliminated ... that is, except ...
THE BILLS - which always seemed to hang around waiting for attention. Sometimes I was too good at ignoring that pile of papers and ended up paying a bill late. That is, until I learned to pay online where I can preset the date on which the 'check' will be delivered to the payee.
Now I put the bills at my computer and pay them the next time I turn on my computer. Presto! My bills are paid on time and I don't have that stack of paper creating a job for my To-Do list. The added benefit is that it is easier, takes a lot less time and I don't have the expense of postage.
Now, if only I could find a file fairy to put away the 'paid' bills! Oh well, guess I can't have everything ;-)
Paying bills is one thing that has always seemed to be a lot of work, satisfying when it's done but not fun to do. Figuring out how to manage the beastly chore has taken me some time.
First, the paper clutter - yuk! The new way? I open mail at the kitchen counter as soon as I walk through the door. Junk mail and trash goes in the burn box. Magazines are placed by our chairs. Documents requiring signature (proxy ballots, etc) are handled immediately and the reply letter put in my tote bag to mail out the next day. Most of the clutter is eliminated ... that is, except ...
THE BILLS - which always seemed to hang around waiting for attention. Sometimes I was too good at ignoring that pile of papers and ended up paying a bill late. That is, until I learned to pay online where I can preset the date on which the 'check' will be delivered to the payee.
Now I put the bills at my computer and pay them the next time I turn on my computer. Presto! My bills are paid on time and I don't have that stack of paper creating a job for my To-Do list. The added benefit is that it is easier, takes a lot less time and I don't have the expense of postage.
Now, if only I could find a file fairy to put away the 'paid' bills! Oh well, guess I can't have everything ;-)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Cars & Transportation
a note from Tilly Titewad ...
There's a cajillion hints around about how to save gas by driving carefully.
Probably the best one for me is that my dad taught me to drive as though I had a raw egg between my foot and the gas pedal. Trust me, there will be no gas-burning jack rabbit starts or sudden stops if you do this.
Use the 2-second rule to achieve a safe following distance. That gives you time to adjust your speed without slamming on the brakes or stomping on the gas pedal. If you're new to this concept, just start counting off 2 seconds when the car ahead of you passes some mark on the pavement, like the shadow of a bridge or light post, and if you cross that mark earlier than 2 seconds later, back off a bit and check again at the next marker. You'll soon get used to gauging the distance. This method works at any speed. Larger vehicles, like buses, use a 3-second rule.
I use cruise control on the highway because maintaining a constant speed uses far less fuel.
Remove unnecessary stuff from your car to reduce the weight.
If you can improve your fuel efficiency by 2 mph when you’re now getting 20 mph, that means that every 10th fill-up is free! Sounds pretty good, eh?
When I worked in the city, I used public transportation for my commute. Even though it took more time, it saved money and I could relax enroute. Of course, we didn’t have daycare to deal with; that would have changed the picture entirely.
We drive older cars that get pretty good gas mileage (33 mpg on the sedan, 19 mpg on the SUV which hauls large loads 2-3 times a week) and we don’t owe anything on either one. Once your car is paid off, it won’t be repossessed. Maintaining them, ie, regular oil changes, etc. pays off in the long run.
There's more information at www.fueleconomy.gov and other websites.
Happy driving!
There's a cajillion hints around about how to save gas by driving carefully.
Probably the best one for me is that my dad taught me to drive as though I had a raw egg between my foot and the gas pedal. Trust me, there will be no gas-burning jack rabbit starts or sudden stops if you do this.
Use the 2-second rule to achieve a safe following distance. That gives you time to adjust your speed without slamming on the brakes or stomping on the gas pedal. If you're new to this concept, just start counting off 2 seconds when the car ahead of you passes some mark on the pavement, like the shadow of a bridge or light post, and if you cross that mark earlier than 2 seconds later, back off a bit and check again at the next marker. You'll soon get used to gauging the distance. This method works at any speed. Larger vehicles, like buses, use a 3-second rule.
I use cruise control on the highway because maintaining a constant speed uses far less fuel.
Remove unnecessary stuff from your car to reduce the weight.
If you can improve your fuel efficiency by 2 mph when you’re now getting 20 mph, that means that every 10th fill-up is free! Sounds pretty good, eh?
When I worked in the city, I used public transportation for my commute. Even though it took more time, it saved money and I could relax enroute. Of course, we didn’t have daycare to deal with; that would have changed the picture entirely.
We drive older cars that get pretty good gas mileage (33 mpg on the sedan, 19 mpg on the SUV which hauls large loads 2-3 times a week) and we don’t owe anything on either one. Once your car is paid off, it won’t be repossessed. Maintaining them, ie, regular oil changes, etc. pays off in the long run.
There's more information at www.fueleconomy.gov and other websites.
Happy driving!
Utilities savings
a note from Tilly Titewad ...
Why spend more than necessary for the basic comforts of life? Here are some ideas that may help you save money - money you didn't even know was leaking out of your wallet. If you multiply the monthly savings by 12, you can really see the benefit of making small changes.
You can save up to 2% of your heating bill for every degree you turn down the thermostat. We ignore the numbers on the thermostat, turning it down at night and in the morning pushing its lever up slowly only until the furnace clicks on. Then if we’re still cold when the furnace turns off, we repeat. I was astounded to find that we’re comfortable when the thermometer shows only 65 ̊. Of course, in the winter I almost always wear a cardigan and warm socks too.
Appliances with a 'stand-by' feature continue to draw electricity whenever they’re plugged in. We put those on surge protector strips so we can ‘unplug’ them by simply turning off the switch on the strip. The TV, computers, printers, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, sewing machine, iron, etc. are all unplugged when not in use. Initially when I heard about doing this I thought it was a bit over the top, but the first month I did it, I changed nothing else about our electricity usage and our kilowatt usage was 11% lower than the same month the year before! How much is 11% of your electricity bill over the course of a year?
We have garbage picked up every other week and recycle extensively. Savings: $13 a month x 12 months = $156 a year.
For us, it made sense to keep the landline phone but we use a phone card for long distance calls because we have only 150 shared minutes for our two cell phones (the cheapest plan available). When we made the switch and cut off long distance from our landline, we saved $20 a month ($240 a year). We watch the minutes on the cell phones and don't use it outside our 'free' calling area. When travelling, we find a landline and use the long distance calling card for calls.
An internet connection at home is a ‘must’ for us. Since we watch free movies online, we have a 3.0Mbps connection. I called our ISP to ask what our level of service was and noted that we were paying more than any of their advertised prices. They readily gave us the lowest price offered to new customers. Our ISP has their own website for testing download speeds but you can also go to www.speakeasy.net to verify your actual speed.
At our house, there is no TV reception without cable or satellite. We recently created a chart to track our TV viewing for a whole month. No, this was not for Nielsen ratings, it was for our own amusement and amazement. We found that we were not watching HBO enough to pay for it separately plus we moved down one notch in the package options after seeing that we don’t watch those extra channels enough to justify the added expense. Monthly savings: $24 ($288 a year, which will pay two months’ electricity bill next summer).
Simple changes - maybe you can use some of them ~
Why spend more than necessary for the basic comforts of life? Here are some ideas that may help you save money - money you didn't even know was leaking out of your wallet. If you multiply the monthly savings by 12, you can really see the benefit of making small changes.
You can save up to 2% of your heating bill for every degree you turn down the thermostat. We ignore the numbers on the thermostat, turning it down at night and in the morning pushing its lever up slowly only until the furnace clicks on. Then if we’re still cold when the furnace turns off, we repeat. I was astounded to find that we’re comfortable when the thermometer shows only 65 ̊. Of course, in the winter I almost always wear a cardigan and warm socks too.
Appliances with a 'stand-by' feature continue to draw electricity whenever they’re plugged in. We put those on surge protector strips so we can ‘unplug’ them by simply turning off the switch on the strip. The TV, computers, printers, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, sewing machine, iron, etc. are all unplugged when not in use. Initially when I heard about doing this I thought it was a bit over the top, but the first month I did it, I changed nothing else about our electricity usage and our kilowatt usage was 11% lower than the same month the year before! How much is 11% of your electricity bill over the course of a year?
We have garbage picked up every other week and recycle extensively. Savings: $13 a month x 12 months = $156 a year.
For us, it made sense to keep the landline phone but we use a phone card for long distance calls because we have only 150 shared minutes for our two cell phones (the cheapest plan available). When we made the switch and cut off long distance from our landline, we saved $20 a month ($240 a year). We watch the minutes on the cell phones and don't use it outside our 'free' calling area. When travelling, we find a landline and use the long distance calling card for calls.
An internet connection at home is a ‘must’ for us. Since we watch free movies online, we have a 3.0Mbps connection. I called our ISP to ask what our level of service was and noted that we were paying more than any of their advertised prices. They readily gave us the lowest price offered to new customers. Our ISP has their own website for testing download speeds but you can also go to www.speakeasy.net to verify your actual speed.
At our house, there is no TV reception without cable or satellite. We recently created a chart to track our TV viewing for a whole month. No, this was not for Nielsen ratings, it was for our own amusement and amazement. We found that we were not watching HBO enough to pay for it separately plus we moved down one notch in the package options after seeing that we don’t watch those extra channels enough to justify the added expense. Monthly savings: $24 ($288 a year, which will pay two months’ electricity bill next summer).
Simple changes - maybe you can use some of them ~
Buying Decisions
a note from Tilly Titewad ...
Now that you've found the book 'No Balance Due' and begun your own spending/saving plan following the author's guidance, you may want to read 'Live Your Life for Half the Price' by Mary Hunt. She reinforces what Lenny Tumbarello spells out in 'No Balance Due' but in a different framework, helping you to figure out how to spend less for what you decide to buy.
First remember to make your buying decisions consciously after determining the REAL value of that expenditure in your life, both for now and in the long run.
You will find you enjoy a very full life when you erase debt. We began the 'No Balance Due' approach a few years ago which is why I recommend it so highly - it works.
Now that you've found the book 'No Balance Due' and begun your own spending/saving plan following the author's guidance, you may want to read 'Live Your Life for Half the Price' by Mary Hunt. She reinforces what Lenny Tumbarello spells out in 'No Balance Due' but in a different framework, helping you to figure out how to spend less for what you decide to buy.
First remember to make your buying decisions consciously after determining the REAL value of that expenditure in your life, both for now and in the long run.
You will find you enjoy a very full life when you erase debt. We began the 'No Balance Due' approach a few years ago which is why I recommend it so highly - it works.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I just finished reading a 10 year old book titled 'The Millionaire Next Door'. According to the authors, Thomas Stanley PhD and William Danko PhD, based on their extensive research, millionaires are frugal. They don't live the high life spending for lavish homes, cars, jewelry and entertainment. They do live the good life knowing they are financially secure.
Now, if being a millionaire is not your goal, nonetheless you might want to be secure. Stanley and Danko suggest a formula you can use to figure out where you stand. Multiply your age by your annual realized income and divide by 10. That's about where your net worth should be now. Where are you?
One place to start a new plan would be to know how you spend your money and on what. Following the outline set forth in a book titled 'No Balance Due' by Lenny Tumbarello (www.nobalancedue.com), we tallied what we spent our money on over a period of time, then annualized the outgoing cash. It's surprising to see what you spend when you annualize it. You could also use an online service like www.mint.com or www.quickenonline.com to track those expenditures. For us, it helps that I regularly update our financial statement including income & expenses, assets & debts.
Budgeting may not seem exciting but reaching your goals is a tremendous reward for your efforts. Who knows, maybe you'll become a millionaire one day!
Now, if being a millionaire is not your goal, nonetheless you might want to be secure. Stanley and Danko suggest a formula you can use to figure out where you stand. Multiply your age by your annual realized income and divide by 10. That's about where your net worth should be now. Where are you?
One place to start a new plan would be to know how you spend your money and on what. Following the outline set forth in a book titled 'No Balance Due' by Lenny Tumbarello (www.nobalancedue.com), we tallied what we spent our money on over a period of time, then annualized the outgoing cash. It's surprising to see what you spend when you annualize it. You could also use an online service like www.mint.com or www.quickenonline.com to track those expenditures. For us, it helps that I regularly update our financial statement including income & expenses, assets & debts.
Budgeting may not seem exciting but reaching your goals is a tremendous reward for your efforts. Who knows, maybe you'll become a millionaire one day!
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