I've been doing the Body for Life workout routine for 3wks now and I've been challenged by the fact that I don't have a weight bench. I bought my handweights with a Target giftcard I was given from work, but the bench has alluded me. I was checking Craigslist, watching SlickDeals, posting on Freecycle and all the usual avenues to a deal, but kept coming up empty. I didn't want to spend a whole lot, and $20 was about the max I was willing to go.
Today I was going to the grocery store to pick up milk and saw a yard sale right near the store. It was drizzling a little out so I thought I would stop by on my way home if it wasn't pouring by then. Well when I got out of the store not only was it not pouring, the rain had let up quite a bit so I decided to stop.
As I got there, the guy told me that everything minus a few things was half off, and lo and behold, he had a weight bench!!! I held my breath and took a peek at the price, it was $25... so my cost was only $12!!! I was SO THRILLED! I told him that I wanted it and then continued to look around a bit, not finding anything else, but just giddy with my steal! He helped me load it in the car and I drove very happily away and towards home!
One thing that Dave has taught me is that as adults we have to have patience and not act like children and do things just because we want to or because it feels good. It might take a few extra days, or it might take a few extra weeks, but there are savings to be had by those that are diligent to find them! I could hardly find anything less than $50 brand new and the cheapest thing I found used was $25 about 50 miles away, so patience really can pay! I am so excited to do my weight routine on Monday and not use a toy box or folding chair as my pseudo weight bench!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
144 Days!
That's how long it took us to pay off the loan on our van. We took the loan out in February for 2yrs and knew that it would be paid off much earlier, and in 144 days we did it! We're pretty excited about having that big one out of the way and now we can focus all of our energy (and money!) to paying off the credit card. We haven't used the car since 2007, but there is still a nice chunk of change sitting out there on it, and then of course my student loan.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Beans and Rice (and Rice and Beans!)
I tried out a recipe the other day for a beans and rice dish that I have absolutely fallen in love with! It's quick, it's easy, and it's easy to dress up a bit if you have stuff laying around the house.
Ingredients
3/4 cup dry lentils (brown ones)
3/4 cup dry brown rice
4 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes (or chicken, vegetable)
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
Dump everything in a medium pot and boil. Turn down the heat to a little lower than medium and cook covered (just like rice) until done. I usually stir every 5-6 minutes, but you probably don't need to once the spices are mixed! Use just like regular taco filling.
I have been putting a bit of taco sauce on mine, who doesn't have extra Taco Bell ones right? And sprinkling a little bit of shredded cheddar on it and eating with broken taco shells. Not only does this taste very good, it's a good balance of carbs and protein so it does fill you up. A bag of lentils can be bought for under $1 and rice should be a staple in any frugal house, right?
I haven't updated on our progress in awhile, mostly because I've been holding off until our van was paid off. My goal date for payoff was July 1, but we ended up needing to get tires put on and I took money from our "snowball" and paid for them that way rather than tapping into our emeregency fund. Hopefully with payday next week I can report a big payoff!
Ingredients
3/4 cup dry lentils (brown ones)
3/4 cup dry brown rice
4 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes (or chicken, vegetable)
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
Dump everything in a medium pot and boil. Turn down the heat to a little lower than medium and cook covered (just like rice) until done. I usually stir every 5-6 minutes, but you probably don't need to once the spices are mixed! Use just like regular taco filling.
I have been putting a bit of taco sauce on mine, who doesn't have extra Taco Bell ones right? And sprinkling a little bit of shredded cheddar on it and eating with broken taco shells. Not only does this taste very good, it's a good balance of carbs and protein so it does fill you up. A bag of lentils can be bought for under $1 and rice should be a staple in any frugal house, right?
I haven't updated on our progress in awhile, mostly because I've been holding off until our van was paid off. My goal date for payoff was July 1, but we ended up needing to get tires put on and I took money from our "snowball" and paid for them that way rather than tapping into our emeregency fund. Hopefully with payday next week I can report a big payoff!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Cash Ain't So Bad After All!
Well it's been nearly a month since I decided to experiment a bit and try out this cash thing that Dave talks about. As a die hard debit card girl, and someone who has a reputation for being a little bit stubborn, this was not a decision made on a whim.
It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be! I did cash for groceries, medical expenses, and general household expenses. I did save all the receipts in all the envelopes so that I could still divide out things into smaller categories later, and that also worked very well.
It went so well that I re-funded my 3 envelopes today and I am going to go for it again this month too!
It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be! I did cash for groceries, medical expenses, and general household expenses. I did save all the receipts in all the envelopes so that I could still divide out things into smaller categories later, and that also worked very well.
It went so well that I re-funded my 3 envelopes today and I am going to go for it again this month too!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Are We There Yet?
Sometimes I feel like a little kid. I find myself asking over and over again, "Are we there yet?" I just want to be done with debt forever so desperately that I feel like this is taking way too long. In reality, it hasn't even been a year. We just turned over our 9th month of our Total Money Make Over and I feel like I was starting to hit a bit of a rut.
I am waiting for that turning point where we hit 50%, and it's not that far away now. We started with $39,216.80 in debt, so the magic number is right around $19,608.
As of June 8
Starting debt: $39216.80
Debt as of 6/8: $21116.50
Amount Paid: $18099.80
I am waiting for that turning point where we hit 50%, and it's not that far away now. We started with $39,216.80 in debt, so the magic number is right around $19,608.
As of June 8
Starting debt: $39216.80
Debt as of 6/8: $21116.50
Amount Paid: $18099.80
Saturday, May 30, 2009
To the Dark Side
I don't know why, but this week I felt compelled to not only put a budget on paper, but to also start funding envelopes with cash instead of just using my debit card. I think it was having my family visit me for a few days that made me realize that sometimes I really do just whip out the debit card and pay for stuff without really thinking it through. I always do the quick, "Do I have the cash in my account for this" thought, but I never really consider where I am in the budget for it.
This is the one area of "Dave" where I have be very resistant. In fact, I traded in my Toyota before I even considered going to envelopes, so that speaks volumes.
I have the envelopes and I am ready to go, but now I am afraid to spend any of the money. Maybe this will work after all!
This is the one area of "Dave" where I have be very resistant. In fact, I traded in my Toyota before I even considered going to envelopes, so that speaks volumes.
I have the envelopes and I am ready to go, but now I am afraid to spend any of the money. Maybe this will work after all!
One of Those God Moments
The weekend before Memorial Day I taught Nathan how to ride his bike sans training wheels. It was a pretty big moment because he was so resistant to trying because if he can't be the best or do it absolutely perfect the first time, he gets really angry and gives up. Well I didn't give him much of a choice and we went to the park together, and when we go there I threw his bike on a picnic table and took the training wheels off and told him he better figure it out if he wanted to go home. Within an hour, despite a few tantrums, he was riding his bike like a pro!
So we got home and we were going to get the 2 little ones in the bike trailer and go for a ride, and I had to inflate the tires on my bike, and lo and behold someone stole his bike out of the back of our yard. He left it pretty close to the road and it was gone in a matter of seconds.
After a few days we gave up on getting the bike back and bought him another bike (NOT on credit, we cash flowed it!) and put the other bike out of our minds.
A couple of days ago, Nathan was at his friends house and they live close to the park and they saw from her house what looked like his bike in the park, so they walked over there and looked, and it sure was! It was absolutely trashed: the back tire had burn holes through it, the seat was burned as well, it had been dragged (by a car?) and the seat was also torn up and one of the pedals was destroyed. Even as bad as it was, I couldn't bring myself to just throw it out. There were still lots of good parts on this bike.
Matt decided that it would be a good project to replace the broken parts and give the bike to a kid who needed a bike, so we set out to Walmart to see what it would cost to replace the tire, tube, pedals, and seat. Now, understand that this bike was only like $50 to begin with, and when we priced it, it was $35 in parts to repair it. We decided in the store that we knew how much it would cost now to fix it, so if we did find someone who needed a bike, we could do it then, but we weren't going to just fix it up to give away on Craigslist or something.
On our way home from WalMart, not even 15 minutes later, we drove by this MASSIVE yard sale, and on one of the tables was a plastic bin full of bike pedals and some bike seats. For under $3 we got most of the bike fixed and now all we need to do is replace the tire and tube.
I just know there is a little boy somewhere who needs a bike and God is certainly making it easy for us to find him!
So we got home and we were going to get the 2 little ones in the bike trailer and go for a ride, and I had to inflate the tires on my bike, and lo and behold someone stole his bike out of the back of our yard. He left it pretty close to the road and it was gone in a matter of seconds.
After a few days we gave up on getting the bike back and bought him another bike (NOT on credit, we cash flowed it!) and put the other bike out of our minds.
A couple of days ago, Nathan was at his friends house and they live close to the park and they saw from her house what looked like his bike in the park, so they walked over there and looked, and it sure was! It was absolutely trashed: the back tire had burn holes through it, the seat was burned as well, it had been dragged (by a car?) and the seat was also torn up and one of the pedals was destroyed. Even as bad as it was, I couldn't bring myself to just throw it out. There were still lots of good parts on this bike.
Matt decided that it would be a good project to replace the broken parts and give the bike to a kid who needed a bike, so we set out to Walmart to see what it would cost to replace the tire, tube, pedals, and seat. Now, understand that this bike was only like $50 to begin with, and when we priced it, it was $35 in parts to repair it. We decided in the store that we knew how much it would cost now to fix it, so if we did find someone who needed a bike, we could do it then, but we weren't going to just fix it up to give away on Craigslist or something.
On our way home from WalMart, not even 15 minutes later, we drove by this MASSIVE yard sale, and on one of the tables was a plastic bin full of bike pedals and some bike seats. For under $3 we got most of the bike fixed and now all we need to do is replace the tire and tube.
I just know there is a little boy somewhere who needs a bike and God is certainly making it easy for us to find him!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)