Looking For Freedom

A foodie has hijacked this personal finance blog

2010-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing major to report, at least not financially speaking. For us, February is a month of working, budgeting, planning, and finding ways to snag a little treat every now and then! I have some big news to share, news that affects our finances, but I need to wait a few more weeks before I spill the beans.

No, I'm not pregnant!

I'm still trying to figure out how to get good food for less money. Last week, we spent ~$125 on groceries; this week we tried shopping at Trader Joe's instead of Whole Foods and spent roughly the same (although I think we ended up with more food, since TJs sells pre-packaged fruits and veggies - so instead of getting to select how much produce you want, you end up with a pack of two peppers, or a pack of three bok choy, or a pack of three zucchini, and so on and so forth). TJs seems to offer fewer gluten free/soy free/corn free options than WF, but it does sell a good selection of organic ingredients. The meat and cheese prices were definitely lower at TJs than at WF.

I don't think I should stress out too much about the total, though, especially because we've been really good about cooking at home and not going out to eat. We used to go out several times a week, and now it's more like two or three times a month at most. So that's money saved.

Trent and I have planned a date for Valentine's Day. We haven't decided on a specific place yet, mainly because it's tough to find an affordable restaurant that's transparent about its ingredients. We might go to the sushi place down the street or perhaps try Bonefish Grill, which apparently has a gluten free menu.

Meanwhile, Trent took me to a local sweet shop to pick out some Valentine's Day goodies, and here is what I ended up with:

(I had way more lollipops than this, but a certain young individual thought it was appropriate to "borrow" them. That's right - I'm in a lollipop tug-of-war with a preschooler.)

The lollipops are made by Yummy Earth, which specializes in organic, all-natural, gluten-free and corn-free sweets. These lollipops are the best I've ever tasted.

And since we're on the subject of food, what the heck - here's tonight's dinner: white bean chicken chili a la The Pioneer Woman:

What I love about this chili is that it's spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. It's just enough to clear the sinuses!

Looking for Freedom isn't meant to be a food blog, but it's starting to reflect the fact that our frugal(ish) living means we spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen. :-) My life right now is all about working, playing, cooking, and looking forward to some exciting future opportunities.

Don't forget to floss!

2010-02-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, Trent came down with a toothache. At first it was a mere twinge. "I'll wait," he thought, "and maybe it will go away." He popped a few Tylenol and kept it to himself. But the pain worsened, and when I noticed him wincing, he finally had to admit what was going on.

The dentist took an x-ray and announced that he would need a root canal plus a cap on one of his back teeth. Total estimated cost: $1800. "But I could buy a brand-new Apple laptop with that kind of money," Trent told her. "Isn't there another option?"

The other option was to simply pull the tooth, keep the wound clean, and live on liquids for two days while his gums heal up. Total cost: $108.

You can guess which option he chose. We don't even have $1800 in our emergency fund right now. Currently, he's downing nutrient shakes and water and dousing his mouth with saltwater at regular intervals.

I gripe whenever I have to pay $150 for a visit to the doctor, but in truth, the dentist is always more expensive. Always. They're forever finding another problem, another issue: a cavity, worn-down enamel, a chip, a little bleeding along the gumline. Every problem seems to warrant immediate attention, and every procedure comes complete with paralyzing sticker shock. Who can afford it? Whose emergency account can keep up with it? I don't understand why it has to cost so much when it's clear that the majority of the population can't afford such expensive treatments.

What's most frustrating is that we're pretty careful about our teeth. I brush twice daily, floss twice daily (yes, using the proper method), and rinse twice daily with enamel-restoring mouthwash. I don't drink soda or eat much candy. And yet the dental drama never ends!

In a battle between my hair and dinner...

2010-02-01T16:22:00.001-08:00

...dinner wins.

I've just realized that my scheduled appointment for partial highlights and a trim is not in the budget and will need to be canceled. I'm sure my stylist would try to persuade me otherwise, but that's the way it is. (If you don't have highlights, don't get them... The constant upkeep is a pain in the neck and a blow to the wallet.) We're tightening our belts and putting aside the debit card.

The thing is, I'd rather spend my money on good food. This week's food budget was $125; at the register, we came in at $123.15 - still quite steep, but at least we stuck to the plan and to our list. We got excellent deals on apples, bananas, and most of the veggies. The price of the broccoli and the organic, free-range chicken seemed a bit steep. We'll see if we can lower our total during next Sunday's grocery run. My goal right now is to make it through the week without going to the store again.

Tonight, I'm making dinner: baked rosemary chicken with potatoes, celery, and carrots, plus cornbread for the boys.

The cornbread is from a Bob's Red Mill mix. Just add butter or oil and eggs or flaxseed (I like the nuttiness of the flaxseed) to the mix and bake it for about half an hour. Here's what's left a day later when you share your home with an adult male and a bread-loving preschooler:

The potatoes are steaming up. I leave them in the pan on low heat for about 45 minutes until they're soft, then crank up the heat so they get crispy on the outside:

And then here are the carrots and broccoli, for extra flavor, texture, fiber, and nutrition:

I add them to the potatoes right at the very end. I like my veggies crunchy.

Last but not least, here's the chicken, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and rosemary. I made enough so that we can eat another helping for tomorrow's lunch:

Mmmm. (It was really good!)

A letter to my son

2010-01-29T12:43:00.000-08:00

My dear, darling, Pampers-bottomed son,

I am writing to inform you that whenever you are ready to use the potty, I am ready to help you learn. You are nearly three years old. I can see how much you love and value your independence as you choose your own snacks, select the toys you want to play with, "rearrange" your bedroom, and remove your clothes at will. So imagine how independent and dignified you will feel when you're completely free of those pesky old diapers! No more dampness, no more puffiness, no more stinking up the entire cabin of a 757 passenger jet.

And even though I know you don't care - I'll just mention it in case you have any sympathy for us - I want to point out that a 100-count pack of diapers costs approximately $30. Insane, right? Thirty bucks could buy a whole bucketful of Hot Wheels. Or a big bin of dinosaurs. It would even cover the expense of two Dora the Explorer videos. (Ha - THAT got your attention, didn't it!) Better yet, we could just funnel that money into your college fund.

I won't push you into potty training. I'll wait for you to take the lead. But give it some thought and get back to me.

Note that I am not above offering bribes for your cooperation.

Much love,

Mom

Dumb Financial Choices Part 1: Teeny Tiny Down Payment

2010-01-25T20:24:00.001-08:00

Don't let the fact that this is a personal finance blog fool you. Unlike many of the other personal finance bloggers I follow, I still make plenty of monetary mistakes. Plenty. At any given time, Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey could sift through our finances and have a field day. They could invite us onto their shows and yell at us. Then we could parlay the trauma into a book entitled How to Make Dumb Financial Choices (Based on a True Story).

Dumb Financial Choice #1: Purchasing a house without a 20 percent down payment.

Or even a 10 percent down payment.

Or... um... even a five percent down payment.

Actually, it was way less than even five percent. But the bank didn't seem to care, so we figured it was okay.

We purchased our home in April of 2008. Had we waited a few months - until the global financial crisis was hogging the headlines - we probably wouldn't have gotten away with this particular loan. But we managed to make it under the wire. Yay.

Unfortunately, we've come to realize that we don't actually like owning a home (I know, I know... That's so very un-American of us). For our entire married lives (10 years), we've been vagabonds, changing location every one or two or three years. Whereas other people might find such upheaval disconcerting, we enjoy it. New places, new faces, new experiences, new atmospheres, new challenges... We thrive on change. It makes our toes tingle. We've been aware of that fact for a long time. Looking back, I'm not sure why we decided to make such a permanent choice. We'd have been better off buying an RV.

The bottom line is that right now, we are stuck. Stuck with our 6.875% interest rate. Stuck with $150 in PMI every month. We can't sell this place. Housing prices in our area are in decent shape, but at this point, even if we received our theoretical asking price, we couldn't make enough of a profit to cover the Realtor commission, let alone the remaining balance on our home loan. Plus, any savvy buyer would demand less than the advertised price. Any savvy buyer would probably also demand that we cover closing costs and foot the bill for replacing the scruffy carpet and the on-the-fritz refrigerator.

But had we put 20 percent down, we would have been able to afford listing our home if we wanted to. Sure, maybe we would have taken a hit, but that would have been our choice to make. At the very least, we could have refinanced and obtained a lower monthly mortgage payment.

Now we're at the mercy of the housing market. Hopefully, if we wait five years, the market will bounce back. Maybe we'll even make a small profit. It just seems like a long time to wait, especially when I'm stricken with such a chronic case of Wanderlust.

Five frugal and environmentally-friendly product swaps

2010-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl visiting my grandmother in Germany, I noticed that Oma, like many of her friends, always took her own well-worn cloth bags with her to the grocery store, drugstore, bakery, and meat market. She never set off to make a purchase without them, and she never bought more than what she could fit into those bags. Thus, she never had to bother with paper or plastic.

Then we’d go back home to America and shop - cloth bag-less - at our own grocery store, where the ratio of plastic to product was approximately 1:1: a plastic bag for the jar of pickles. A plastic bag for the carton of milk. Two plastic bags, doubled up, for a couple liters of soda. We never knew quite what to do with all of those bags after unloading the groceries (this was before most big towns had recycling centers). Throwing them away seemed wasteful, but keeping them was inconvenient. You’d open the pantry door and a tsumani of plastic would tumble onto your head.

For the last year or so, Trent and I have followed Oma’s suit. When we shop, we bring our own cloth bags with us. (Sometimes we even get praised for it. “Thanks for making an effort to be kind to the environment,” said the Whole Foods bagger the other day, and smiled as if we’d saved half the planet from certain destruction.)

Hopefully, cloth bags are just the start of it for us. Over the past year or so, we’ve been re-examining our choices in an effort to save money and live in a more environmentally friendly manner. We started cooking most of our meals from scratch, meaning we eat fewer processed foods and takeout and therefore generate less plastic and cardboard waste. We traded in regular light bulbs for compact fluorescents. And we’ve made a number of other easy product swaps that have eased our spending and lightened the load on the environment, however incrementally:

(Excuse the cell phone-quality picture. A new camera isn't in the budget quite yet.)

1. We ditched the plastic and bought a water filter. I hate to say it, but the tap water in our town tastes like it’s been stewing in a big vat of chlorine. I refuse to drink it straight up, regardless of how safe it’s supposed to be. In the past, I’d buy at least one gallon of water in a plastic container every week. It wasn’t that expensive – about a dollar a gallon at Target – but it generated a lot of waste. A few months ago, we wised up and purchased a pitcher with accompanying water filter for about $22, including the filter. Now I have clean, tasty water on hand all the time, and our recycling bin isn’t cluttered with giant containers.

2. Goodbye, paper towels. Hello…diapers? Last year, I wrote about how we decided to substitute pre-fold diapers for paper towels. Given that we have a three year old, and given that we do cook nearly every night, we deal with grime and goop and spills on a near-constant basis. We were easily going through an entire roll of paper towels every week. So we spent about $20 on a couple packs of basic cloth diapers. They’re much more absorbent than paper towels or regular kitchen rags, and we wash them with whatever else happens to be in the hamper. We use them to mop up the counter, wipe off sticky mac n’ cheese-covered fingers, clean the windows, etc.

3. Take a load off, oven. The toaster’s filling in tonight. We’re a small family and our meals aren’t that large. Sometimes it seems silly to rev up the big oven just to bake a plate of fries or roast some veggies. It's a waste of energy. So when we can, we use our little toaster oven instead. Because it’s small, it heats up quickly and slices a few minutes off of most baking times. We’ve used our toaster oven to cook a variety of foods: chicken, potatoes, pizza, and fish, to name a few.

4. It doesn’t smell as good as other cleaning products, but it works just as well. We’ve replaced most of our household cleaners with two cheap and basic substitutes: vinegar and baking soda. They’re effective, and I don’t worry about using them around my son. These products sell for about a dollar each at the grocery store, and a little of either goes a long way. I cleaned the entire bathroom with them the other day, and although it didn’t exactly smell pretty afterwards, the porcelain and chrome were definitely gleaming.

5. We started purchasing biodegradable laundry powder. The $12 4-pound bags we purchase from a local soap company last about three months. You need only about a quarter of a cup of powder per load of laundry. The powder doesn’t suds up the way many other detergents do, but we’ve used it for more than half a year, and I can say that our clothes always look clean and smell fresh (...at least, no-one's told us otherwise...).

I'm not sure why we didn't make some of these changes sooner, especially when Oma - one of my lifelong role models - served as such a commendable example of a conscientious consumer. Better late than never, I guess. We’ve started to realize that frugality and green living can mesh very well with one another: a wallet-conscious choice is often an Earth-conscious choice, too.

Trying to budget at Whole Foods

2010-01-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

Sunday marked the beginning of our second week of selecting groceries according to our new eating guidelines, and our second week of shopping exclusively at Whole Foods. There's no getting around the fact that WF is more expensive than our usual Kroger market and that fewer items are on sale. However, the food is also healthier on the whole. WF carries a plethora of natural, organic, and locally-grown products. That's not to say that it's the picture of healthful perfection: you can find plenty of tempting snacks, sweets, and processed junk at WF, just as you would at most other grocery stores. It's just that WF's junk food is free of artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners, and partially hydrogenated fat. (Related side note: the New Yorker recently published an article about contradictions associated with Whole Foods' history and management. It's an interesting read, especially if you're really into natural foods or skeptical about this company's ability to make a profit while maintaining its integrity. But I digress.)

We planned carefully for our shopping excursion. First, we constructed a menu for the week:

Breakfast: Rice cereal and fruit for Susanne; cereal for Trent; waffles and fruit (or whatever else we can get him to eat) for the kiddo

Lunch: Dinner leftovers for Susanne and Trent; mac and cheese, cheesy toast, or pasta plus fruit for our son

Dinner:

~Sweet potato falafel (we had this on Sunday - it's delicious!)

~Broccoli and quinoa (that was last night's dinner, and it was exceptionally tasty, too)

~Chicken, potatoes, and veggies (Trent's making it right now!)

~Gluten free pizza

~Rice pasta with sauce and veggies

~Soup and salad

~Make-your-own-dinner night (basically, we just eat whatever we can scrounge up from the refrigerator and pantry)

The total bill rang in at $108. That's less than last week (because we didn't purchase as much meat this time), but still more than we would ever spend at Kroger. The organic, free-range chicken cost nearly $8 on its own. I selected a bunch of Bob's Red Mill products (like gluten-free chickpea flour and ground flaxseed) that were each about $5 (but they'll last for at least a couple of months). We also purchased a variety of organic fruits and veggies: apples, bananas, spinach, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery. We threw in some cheese, butter, and milk that we can use in this week's and following weeks' recipes. Treats included a pack of gluten-free cookies for me and my son and some beer for my husband.

It was an expensive trip, but the bill might be lower next week simply because we're now armed with more basic ingredients. Plus, I don't anticipate that we'll be going out to eat anytime soon. We're finding that it's cheaper, easier, and more satisfying to just cook at home.

Bookstore field trip

2010-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Just like last January, my son and I have spent most of the new year so far fighting off illness. Our doctor diagnosed both of us with sinus infections. Phlegm (ewwww), fevers, and unusually cold weather have kept us inside in recent weeks. And if there's something I can't stand - something I absolutely detest - it's being housebound, relegated to watching Oprah and watching the world go by from the front window while I tunnel through boxes of Kleenex. I suspect my offspring feels the same way.

Yesterday, both of us were finally back in business. We decided to go on a field trip to the bookstore. We have a well-honed Borders routine, one that's fun but free. The steps are as follows:

1. Hit up the magazine area and make one or two selections. I usually go for Outside, Money, a sailing magazine, or U.S. News. My son likes the railroad magazines:

2. Take said magazines to the children's section. I find a little chair to sit on and indulge in some recreational reading while my son ooh's and aah's over the Thomas the Train books and plays with the wheelies:

3. After about 45 minutes, we put the books away and replace the magazines on the shelf. Then we go home without buying anything. Cheapskates.

I know Borders isn't a playground, but no-one ever objects to our activities, and we always clean up before we leave. And unlike the library, the noise at the bookstore kind of drowns out preschooler-generated rackets.

Giving to Haiti

2010-01-14T09:22:00.001-08:00

More than 16 years ago, my parents let me go on a week-long trip to Leogane, Haiti. Yesterday, as I watched the gut-wrenching earthquake footage on CNN, I couldn't help but wonder how a place I'd spent so little time in so long ago could still have such a hold on me.

At the time of the trip, Haiti was experiencing a period of particular political instability and uncertainty. Now that I have a kid of my own, I can't help but think that my parents must have been either very brave or very clueless when they let their teenage daughter venture into a potentially dangerous situation. But either way, they did, and I'll always be grateful for it. Being able to experience Haiti was a gift in that it ripped apart my limited worldview and reshaped it forever.

Yesterday afternoon, I felt compelled to remember my experiences there. My son and I dug through the stuffed upstairs closet and shuffled through several boxes of my old middle school and high school mementos. The Haiti pictures, taken with an ancient point-and-shoot, were attached to tabs labeled with my 14-year-old handwriting. The picture at the top was labeled "In Bord Mer" (though when I looked at a map this morning, I couldn't find a Bord Mer near Leogane - maybe I had the name wrong, or maybe the village is too small to find its way onto a Google map). The second picture, above, was labeled "Making the thatch."

This picture is labeled "At the clinic." It was taken at the New Missions clinic in Leogane. (The girl in the pink shirt and flowered dress is my best friend. She is now a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit. She's been back to Haiti numerous times since then, always bringing with her as many medical resources and first aid supplies as she can fit into her luggage.)

According to the New Missions website, the earthquake damaged the clinic "beyond repair."

I labeled the following image "Rich house." It was the nicest home in the area.

Many of the people we met lived in thatch huts. Some of them lived in smaller cement homes. Leogane isn't that far from Port-au-Prince, and I can't help but wonder what happened to these structures during the earthquake and aftershocks.

Or what happened to the people there.

Materially, they had nothing. Being young and optimistic and confident and sure in my beliefs, I thought I had something to give to them. Clearly it was the other way around. The people were so kind, so generous, and so genuine that they left an indelible impression on me.

The children we met are now adults. They probably have their own kids. I wonder where they were when the earthquake struck. I wonder where they are sleeping and what they are eating and if they have water. I wonder if they made it through.

Haiti's current challenges seem almost insurmountable. The people there need to know that the rest of the world is ready to support them, to lend a hand, to provide the resources they need even more desperately than they did before this disaster occurred.

We have chosen to donate money to Haiti's Partners in Health organization, which is already on the ground and established in Haiti. The Red Cross is, of course, taking donations as well, as is Doctors Without Borders and numerous other humanitarian organizations. Additionally, some organizations such as the California Nurses Association are asking for medical professional volunteers to aid with disaster relief.

Right now, Haiti is everywhere you look online and on television. That will probably be the case for the next few weeks. But I hope you will remember Haiti in a month, six months, a year, because the need will be great then, too.

If you can help, help.

Dilemma: Go Organic or Save Money?

2010-01-10T18:33:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night, I found myself staying up way too late to watch the compelling documentary Food, Inc. I could not pull myself away from it. The movie explores the current U.S. food industry, its (often unscrupulous and truly disgusting) practices, its degrading treatment of animals, and its influence on public health. Clearly, the movie had an effect on me, because I marched to the breakfast table on Sunday morning with a new eating manifesto for our household:

*No more high fructose corn syrup. Anything containing HFCS is automatically banned from the pantry and refrigerator. That includes the ketchup. And the wheat thins. And the tomato paste.

*All meat and cheese must be organic. We're not eating anything that contains hormones, antibiotics, etc. Preferably, we'll also purchase organic produce.

*If we go out to eat, we'll go to restaurants that list all of their ingredients in the menu and that purchase much of their food locally.

*We'll plan meals on a weekly basis and go grocery shopping once a week (something we've slacked off on over the last two months). Planning ahead will allow us to use our money wisely and avoid purchasing food we don't need and/or that isn't healthy.

We've always been pretty careful about what we eat. We don't consume many processed foods, and over the last year, we've started eating most of our meals at home. Because I have dietary restrictions related to GERD and food intolerances, we're conscientious label readers.

However, going organic is taking how we eat to a new and more expensive level. Trent went to Whole Foods today (we're normally Kroger customers) and shopped according to the new rules. We bought some local organic beef for about $8 a pound and some organic chicken for $3.90 a pound. He also bought some nuts, fruit, veggies, broth, and cheese, all organic. The total came out to over $150, which is much more than what we've spent on food in the past.

What's difficult is that food is one area where you can see major savings if you make the effort. By checking the supermarket ads, clipping coupons, and buying products that are on sale in bulk, you can cut costs in a significant way. But the thing is, a lot of the food on sale is also the food that's not particularly healthy: sugary cereals, pre-made meals, salty boxed pastas and rices, and so on.

I figure that spending more for local, organic food is worth it. It's worth the benefits to our health. It's worth the benefits to our environment, which suffers at the hands of factory farming. It's worth the message that it sends to supercorporations that care more about the bottom line than they do about their consumers or the animals and crops they raise.

I realize that not everyone has the luxury of going organic. Sometimes, people just need calories, and purchasing a value meal from a fast food restaurant or eating a packet of Ramen is a lot cheaper than piecing together a complete, healthy, home-cooked meal from a fancy organic grocery store. But if people who do have the option to buy organic do it, then perhaps prices will drop over time and eventually allow everyone, regardless of income level, to buy healthier food.

Two favorite finance sites

2010-01-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

I've recently started using two online personal finance tools that I think are worth recommending to others: Mint.com and CreditKarma.com. These are sites that I now refer to on a regular basis as I track our finances, debt reduction progress, and credit scores. Unlike a lot of other personal finance tools, you don't pay for these services. They're free, and they're easy to use.

~Mint.com: This site allows you to view all of your accounts - checking, savings, credit cards, investments, student loans, mortgage, etc. - in one secure place. After enrolling, you search for each account that you want to track, input your username and password for that account, and voila: Mint.com displays your most recent balance for that account every time you log in. It totals your net worth, calculates your average monthly spending in various categories such as restaurants, groceries, gas, and clothing, allows you to create a budget, and gives you a sense of where you might be overspending.

You can't make transactions on the site; for instance, you can't move money from your checking account to an investment account, or take money from your savings to pay off a credit card, etc. It simply gathers a record of your assets and debts into one basket.

One thing I like about this tool is that Mint.com will send you notifications about your accounts - for instance, when your monthly loan payment is due, or when the interest rate on one of your credit card increases.

~creditkarma.com: I know I'm not the only person who's ever requested her credit score only to get duped into a pricy monthly credit monitoring service! That's why I like this site: it's free, and it doesn't get all sneaky by roping you into extras that you don't need. Instead, it obtains your credit score from one of the main credit bureaus (keep in mind that the score will often vary depending on the credit reporting agency), provides you with a general interpretation/explanation for that score via a CreditKarma "report card," and allows you to track your credit score over time.

I've been using it for several months now, and I haven't seen anything shady in CreditKarma's practices. Checking CreditKarma doesn't affect your credit score in any way. You can find more information about how this service operates here.

Where we went right in 2009

2010-01-04T12:08:00.001-08:00

At the beginning of 2009, I was hoping we'd end the year with a nice big chunk of cash in our savings account. That didn't happen, in part because we found ourselves up against a bunch of emergency expenses and in part because we decided to pony up the money for a potpourri of trips (to Destin, Chattanooga, Phoenix, and New Orleans).

That said, I think we made many good financial decisions in 2009. Because we did plump up our savings account early in the year, we were able to pay off our dental work (almost $4K between the two of us), medical bills (for office visits and a trip to the ER), and home repair bills (for a leaking sink, a piping problem in one of our outside walls, and a cranky air conditioning unit) in short order without accruing interest. We paid any balances on our credit cards within 30 days of purchasing (including all travel expenses). We put ~12% of our income into our 401K accounts. We cut back on cable and went out to eat less. We cooked at home more. Perhaps most importantly, we finished paying off our $22K in credit card bills and continued to chip away at our student loans.

2010 may hold some significant changes and challenges for us. It's likely that I will be going back to school in the fall to pursue a graduate degree that will open up more employment opportunities for me (more about that in a future post). I'll be cutting back on my contract work while Trent will be taking on an even more demanding workload than he already has. Our car is turning 10 years old and will soon hit 100K miles, so it's time to start saving for a replacement, just in case. As we make adjustments to our budget, we'll need to make sure we can still meet our other financial obligations, including our mortgage, our monthly bills, our health insurance premiums, and our school loans. My bet is that 2010 is going to be more challenging for us than 2009 from a money standpoint.

As far as personal New Year's resolutions, I try not to go crazy with those. Too much pressure. However, I would like to lose four more pounds (all that's left before I get to my ideal body mass index!), get outside to exercise at least four days a week, continue sailing whenever we get a chance to do so, focus more on the quality of my food (we've been purchasing more organic goods, and I don't regret that at all), and give myself a chance to get creative on a more regular basis. Writing here is a good start!

The Big Easy

2010-01-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday season! We just wrapped up a busy month that included a trip to Phoenix to see a friend (for me), a getaway to Chattanooga (for Trent and me), Christmas with my family at our house, and New Years in New Orleans. I can't lie: while these adventures were hardly lavish, they also weren't very frugal. But were they worth it? Yes. Definitely yes. Traveling is my biggest passion.

We saved some money in The Big Easy by renting an apartment with our friends, who also have young children. The apartment was dusty but roomy and affordable; it was located within a block of the Garden District (which consists of gorgeous Southern mansions). We walked a lot. We prepared the majority of our meals at home; in fact, we went out to eat only twice (once to Gordon Biersch near the aquarium, and once to a fantastic Creole-Mexican joint called Juan's Flying Burrito). On New Year's Eve, we stayed in, made dinner, and toasted with a glass of (inexpensive) wine.

I absolutely loved New Orleans, more than I was expecting to. It now ranks with San Francisco, CA and Wilmington, NC as one of my favorite U.S. cities. New Orleans is gritty, artistic, mysterious, a little dangerous, multicultural, magical, and beautifully spooky. I feel like I'd need to visit two or three more times to get the complete NOLA vibe. While we were there, I had the sense that we were in a completely different country. Loved that!

Three months later, I'm back

2009-12-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

Obviously, I haven't posted here for several months. The main reason is that we've had an insane number of big-ticket expenses lately, and I just wasn't up for talking about them. They drained our savings account and prompted us to re-evaluate our sailing goals.

Basically, we've decided that as much as we love sailing and as confident as we are in our belief that we'd love the liveaboard lifestyle, sailing will have to wait. I don't know how long, but for the next five or 10 years, it's not going to be a pressing goal. What we've learned is that sailing is extremely expensive, and the boat is just one part of that. Boats need places to live. Boats need parts and repairs. Boats have to meet certain government standards and requirements. We started to understand the oft-repeated assertion that boats are essentially drains in the ocean.

We've also learned that we aren't willing to give up everything to save for this dream. We like to travel; we like to explore new places. Are we going to stop doing that for five or 10 years in the hope that we might be able to do it by boat? Apparently, the answer to that question is no. For New Year's, we're going to New Orleans with some of our friends, and next June, all three of us are going to celebrate Trent and my 10th anniversary with a trip to western Montana (a special place to us, as that is where our son was born). I am excited about these excursions, and I don't feel guilty about spending money on them. I grew up taking yearly roadtrips with my parents; those are among my happiest childhood memories. Those adventures were learning opportunities. I want the same for my son. (We've been careful to pay for these trips with money we actually have.)

Like I said, we've had a lot of unexpected expenses in the last few months: dental work to the tune of $3000, a water-damaged wall, a broken sink, a broken toilet, an ER visit for a deep gash to the forehead, visits to the doctor, increased health insurance premiums, etc. etc. etc. It's been discouraging, but I think we're back on track.

That said, despite the obstacles, we're still on the right track. I am happy to report that while we've used our credit cards, we've paid them off in full every month. We still have a cushion in our emergency fund. We're now documenting each and every expense. Our credit scores have increased. Our school loans have decreased (albeit by only a small amount). We've been contributing ~15% of our income to our 401Ks. Trent found a new contract gig and a side gig, too.

I like writing about money and finances, so I'm going to start writing here again. Some of our goals might have changed, but what hasn't changed is that we're still dedicated to pursuing financial freedom.

Living aboard - a question

2009-09-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Like many young couples (30 is still young, right?), our lives are full of job obligations, parenting, and financial strategizing. Beneath the surface, though, runs our desire to cut the literal and figurative docklines and go sailing. It's something I think about every day. It's what motivates us to work hard, play frugally, and spend wisely (well... usually).

We talk about selling this place in 3-4 years, purchasing a boat, and living aboard. From my landlocked vantage point, I get the impression that we should be able to manage it, especially if we either buy the boat outright or put a big down payment on a loan. As long as we have Internet access, we should be able to keep the jobs we have now, meaning we won't lost any (or much) income. We wouldn't have a mortgage or the house-related expenses, though of course we'll obtain plenty of boat-related financial obligations.

When it comes to money, I sometimes overlook the finer details. I'm often overly optimistic and fail to realize it until I'm drowning in unanticipated expenses. So I'm just trying to get a better sense of whether our plan is really feasible.

A couple of questions for those of you who live aboard: how much do you spend per month on marina fees? What do those fees include? And - do you think you spend less living aboard than you would if you lived in a traditional home?

We work hard for the money, do-do do-dooo...

2009-08-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

I've slacked off on posting lately not for a lack of things to say, but because I don't have enough time to say it. This August has consisted of work, work, and more work. I think we're somewhat overcommitted right now, job-wise, and yet I don't think we can afford to cut back in any area; one of Trent's highest-paying contracts ended for good a couple of months ago, and now we're playing catch-up.

We've put our son in daycare 20 hours a week (which he absolutely loves, by the way - that in itself makes it worthwhile) so we have time to tackle our work and do it well. Ideally, we'll be able to make more money even with the daycare expenses than we would if one or both of us let some of our other contracts run out. We'll try this until December and then re-evaluate.

I truly enjoy my job but I do wish it paid more. I've stopped calculating my hourly wage. It's too depressing. Every now and then, I scrounge around for some possible alternatives on the job boards, but I don't see anything that appeals to me or for which I am qualified.

One week spending diet

2009-08-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

We're on a mandatory one-week spending diet until we get paid again next Tuesday. Thanks to a slew of recent bills (health insurance, cable, phone, etc.), student loan payments, and my dental work (which I did pay off as planned), we have little cash left in the checking account. That makes me uncomfortable. Usually, I like to see it pretty well padded because Bank of America is very sneaky about how and when they post transactions. Sometimes I feel like they WANT to catch us off guard and see us go into the red.

We won't be going out to eat, nor will we do any full grocery runs. We'll wait on paying the water and electric bills (they won't be late, but normally we send in our payments right away). If worst comes to worst and we don't think we're going to make it on what's in the account right now, I'll transfer more over from savings - but I really do not want to do that.

Membership Perks

2009-08-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered that Capital One charged me a $59 "Membership Fee." Wow. So glad to be part of the Capital One club.

My balance on the card *was* zero. Really, this was too kind of them.

Part I of II: If you don't have health insurance

2009-08-13T19:41:00.001-07:00

To say that I have an intense interest in the current healthcare debate would be an understatement. My stake in this issue developed from my own not-so-good experiences with the U.S. healthcare system. When I discovered I was pregnant with my son, I didn't have health insurance. It was the first time in 27 years that I let my coverage lapse. My company didn't offer insurance to its employees, private insurers wouldn't touch me with a 10-foot pole after I checked the "pregnant" box on the application (because if you're applying for private insurance and are pregnant, pregnancy is essentially considered a pre-existing condition by many insurers), and we made too much money (read: lower middle class income) to qualify for state aid. We paid for my prenatal visits out of pocket ($5000). We also paid for an emergency c-section and a three-day hospital stay (more than $20,000). The bills poured in for months.

I now have a much better understanding of why medical expenses often go hand in hand with bankruptcy. I also understand how stressful and, frankly, horrifying it feels to not have coverage when you need it (keep in mind that in 2007, more than 15% of all Americans lacked health insurance coverage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau).

Therefore, given the timeliness of the issue and my passion for it, I'm writing a two-part post on what to if you have no insurance (Part I), and how to obtain and make the most of private health insurance (Part II). I won't address employer-sponsored health insurance, but some of these tips may apply to that situation, too. I also won't address prescriptions because that could be a post in and of itself. Please keep in mind that this is not professional advice, nor is it comprehensive. All I can offer are homegrown suggestions that have sprouted from my own experiences. Feel free to comment and provide your own perspectives and advice.

So - What do you do if you have no health insurance?

People without health insurance generally fall into two categories: people who don't have it because they don't want it/don't think they need it, and people who don't have it because they can't get it (36% of people who applied for private insurance were denied because of pre-existing conditions, according to a recent national survey). These tips apply to both situations:

1. Have an emergency fund in place, just in case. If you're not yet saving for a rainy day and you don't have health insurance, start hoarding now - even if you can't set aside all that much at one time. It's amazing how fast your savings will accrue if you contribute consistently to that fund. If you have a health emergency, you'll be able to pay at least part of the bill right away. In turn, that may make your care provider more amenable to a reasonable payment plan.

2. Find a family doctor who isn't a member of the Insurance Company Puppet Club, and see this person every year for a preventative physical and a women's/men's exam. I think some people would disagree with this piece of advice - because physicals can cost a couple hundred dollars, and you can get them on the cheap at clinics (see below) - but think of it this way: it's beneficial to have a doctor who knows your health history and, over time, grows to care about you as an individual, not just as a paying client. That doctor could serve as an advocate for you if your health takes a turn for the worse.

Is it possible to find a doctor who isn't squeamish about caring for someone without insurance? I think so, but you may have to do some hunting. Ask friends for recommendations. Look at doctor reviews on the Internet. Call around and see which office seems most accommodating. There are a lot of doctors out there, and you'll find someone who's happy to work with you. When you do visit this doctor...

3. ...remember that the price of health care is not set in stone. Actually, it is set in stone for a lot of people with health insurance: the prices are often determined in agreements between the insurance companies and the care providers. But if you don't have health insurance, you can haggle - for a lower price, for a no-interest payment plan, or both. When I had my son, the hospital took a significant chunk off the bill because we paid most of it up front (with the help of a loan from my parents). I also negotiated the cost of my prenatal care. Recently, my dentist's office allowed me to set up a no-interest payment plan that I can manage - meaning I don't have to rack up any additional credit card debt in order to get my teeth fixed.

It can't hurt to ask about your options. Don't forget that health care is a business, and if you don't like the service you're receiving, you can go elsewhere. It might take time and energy, but making some calls to different providers and telling them what you want and can afford could save you some big bucks in the long run. No-one should make you feel they're just doing you a favor by deigning to see you.

4. For run-of-the-mill illnesses and health care needs, consider using a discount clinic with affordable "menu pricing." These clinics are cropping up all over the country: in grocery stores, in malls, and even in airports. We visited the Little Clinic at our local Kroger store when our son came down with a persistent cough. A visit to his pediatrician would have cost more than one hundred dollars, and the doctor couldn't see him the same day. A visit to the nurse practitioner at the Little Clinic cost $60, and we didn't even have to wait. Clinics like these also offer physicals and immunizations (including flu shots) at a decent price.

5. Take preventative measures. We can't choose our genes and we can't always control our environment, but we can control what we eat, what we weigh, and how much exercise we get. Studies have shown that maintaining an ideal weight/body mass index, eating a proper diet, and exercising all lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other major illnesses.

6. Research advocacy groups and health care programs in your state and county. If you get really sick and can't afford your bills, where will you turn? Based on my own experience, I'd say that depends on the state in which you live. For example, here in Tennessee, the CoverTN program helps individuals who can't get health insurance elsewhere. There's assistance available, but you might need to do some investigating to suss out all your options (consider starting with your state and local government websites). This is where having a good doctor who cares about you can come in handy - he or she can likely recommend programs for which you may be eligible.

7. Don't put your finances before your health. Your health is more important than money! If you experience chest pain or if your child is running a 104 fever that won't come down, don't put off going to the emergency room because you're worried about the cost. You are worth more than your bank account. You are not a pair of shoes or a new coffee table; you are not expendable or optional. You and your family deserve to get the medical attention you need. Worry about the money later.

Opportunity

2009-08-12T16:13:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! I just found out I've been invited to take part in a paid "leadership opportunity" at work. This means our income will increase - not by much, but every little bit helps. Moreover, it means I'm doing a good job, and that makes me happy. I generally like what I do and I take pride in it. Being recognized for my hard work feels very gratifying.

Bonus to an already thumbs-up day: Trent surprised me by ordering Confessions of a Shopaholic through Netflix. :-)

Goodbye, emergency fund

2009-08-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Not really goodbye, per se, but I transferred a large portion of our emergency fund over to our checking account yesterday when I realized there was no other way to pay off the dental work in short order. I want to have that all taken care of and paid off by the end of this week. I cringed as I made the transaction, but reminded myself that this is why emergency funds exist. At least we have one, even if it's looking a lot skinnier now.

Random medical/dental bills aside, there are a few regular payments that always take a significant chunk out of our account. The biggest ones:

-Mortgage ($1550 a month)

-Student loan payments ($730 a month between the two of us - I LONG to get rid of these)

-Health insurance ($400 a month between the three of us)

-Cell phone bill ($110 a month for both of us... This seems really high, but I do love my iPhone and being able to access the Internet anywhere I go.)

Other expenses include car insurance, gas and electricity, water, home owner's association dues, cable/Internet (we cut back here a few months ago and it's been well worth it), and our Netflix membership. None of these seem unreasonable.

Clearly, there's no getting around the mortgage or the student loans, and I'm not willing to ditch the health insurance. We do continue to look for ways to cut back in other areas so that when emergencies arise, we don't have to scrounge around for cash to pay for them.

First the bad news

2009-08-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

July and the beginning of August saw us saving less money than we did earlier in the year. Several factors contributed to the slowdown:

1. I started my tooth repair marathon. Yesterday I had a $1000 crown put in; next Friday, I'll have four cavities filled to the tune of several hundred dollars.

2. About two weeks ago, I began to experience short-lived but regular episodes of sharp chest pain. After several visits to the doctor, two EKGs, a comprehensive blood workup, and a test in which I was forced to down a strange mixture of antacid and local anesthetic (yuck - not a drink I recommend ordering up at the local bar), I was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and put on Nexium. The Nexium costs $162 a month even with my insurance co-pay (I'm working on finding a less expensive alternative).

Anyway, the medical bills definitely caused some hemorrhaging from our bank account.

3. We've been a little less frugal lately. I wouldn't say we're being wasteful - no shopping sprees or anything - but we've been going out to eat more than we were a few months ago. We need to get back to planning out our meals at the beginning of each week.

4. One of our major contracts came to an end. We've found replacement work, but it requires more effort and better time management.

The good news is this:

1. I'm developing a healthier diet to help quell the acid reflux. I'm working on cutting out most alcohol and fatty food. I've already lost some weight as a result. By the end of the year, I hope to achieve my ideal body mass index.

2. I now know that acid reflux catalyzed the formation of my recent cavities. By changing my diet and maintaining good oral health, I hope to avoid expensive dental visits in the future.

3. We haven't taken anything out of the emergency fund (yet).

4. At least we *have* work. I don't always love my job, but at this point, who cares?

5. Although our savings account is stagnant, we've continued to put money into our 401Ks via automatic deposit. Automatic deposit is the best thing ever. Without it, I doubt we would have saved as much as we have.

New blog

2009-08-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

I've been on a hiatus from this blog because, well, I don't really know what to say. Financially, the exciting, making-big-progress part of our plan is over, and we're in the boring make money-save a little money-make money-save a little money phase. As for sailing, aside from our intermittent involvement with the local yacht club, we're in a holding pattern there, too. Sometimes I wish we lived close to the coast and had our own house so that we could buy a cheap little boat, park it in our driveway, and sail it on the weekends.

However, I have started a new blog about the day-to-day aspects of being a working mom. It's called WAHMyhood. I love writing and want to be able to blog on a daily basis; I'll have plenty of fodder for frequent entries about motherhood, working, and juggling multiple responsibilities.

I'll still be writing here, too. We're still very much invested in our sailing dream and want to have a record of our progress. The posts will be more sporadic, that's all.

Late July craziness

2009-07-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have been busy lately with work, getting one of my teeth fixed (goodbye, $1000), baking (one day last week, I spent eight hours in the kitchen and made a massive dinner of homemade veggie casserole, focaccia bread, fruit salad, salad with sunflower dressing, and blueberry pie - for me, that was the equivalent of a cooking marathon), cleaning (I tend to make a big mess when I cook), and trying to figure out why our two-year-old erupts with massive amounts of energy 20 hours a day (I even read a parenting book - and I'm usually not a big fan of such things).

This summer has been very hot and blazingly sunny, and I am looking forward to autumn and winter, when we can spend time at the park without melting. The combination of heat and UV radiation makes us reluctant to head outside, even though that's the best way for our kid to blow off some steam.

Basically, all I want to do is lounge around, eat yummy food, drink something citrusy and refreshing, and... hmm, that's about it.

One piece of news: we did join our local sailing club. We're going to alternate going to the meetings; our son isn't old enough to come along yet, so one of us needs to stay home and hang out with him. Trent went last Tuesday night, and I'll get to go this Tuesday night. In addition to getting a chance to sail, I hope we'll be able to meet some people who know stuff about navigation and fixing things, and who enjoy sharing that knowledge.

A second opinion saved me $1832

2009-07-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last week, I wrote about how I received some bad news about my teeth on the same day we paid off our credit card debt. My dentist's fancy new x-ray equipment apparently detected four cavities absent from the more archaic x-rays taken in January. In addition to the fillings, he also decided I needed two crowns at more than $1K a pop, and that I should replace two of my old silver fillings with resin-based composite. The total cost of this treatment plan came out to a whopping $3535.00. No amount of Novocaine could dull the pain of that bill.

Not entirely sold on everything he'd proposed - especially the part that involved replacing the silver fillings - I decided to seek a second opinion. I made an appointment with another dentist in the same practice. Today, in a consultation for which she did not charge me, she spent 20 minutes peering into my mouth and reviewing my x-rays. Her determination: while I do need one crown, the other one is, at this point, unnecessary. Moreover, the old fillings are in good shape, and there's no need to fix something that isn't broken. She then helped me prioritize which remaining issues to address first and which ones we can tackle in a few months. Clearly, she will be the person I trust with my teeth from here on out.

New total treatment plan cost: $1703. It's still expensive and still financially painful, but it's $1832 less than the first proposed plan.

I spoke with the office manager about the best way to pay for these procedures, since my insurance won't cover it. She suggested Care Credit, but although it sounds like a pretty above-board option, I have no intention of going back into credit card debt. When I explained this to her, she assured me the dentist will allow me to pay off the balance in a couple of installments. I think we'll be able to make that work.

I'm glad I didn't assume that the first guy was the All Knowing, Never-to-be-Questioned God of Dentistry. I'm glad I sought the advice of another expert. This is the first time I've asked for a second opinion, but it won't be the last. From here on out, I will take a more proactive approach to my health care. Doing so could be beneficial to my well-being and to my wallet.