Category Archives: Budget

What’s your one thing?

Posted on August 2, 2012 | 10 Comments

Remember that whole budget mode thing I started eight months ago? While I haven’t paid everything off, I’ve made significant changes in my life that have made quite an impact. Yet there’s one thing I won’t cut out of my life. Some might even call it an obsession.

Since living alone equates to financial responsibility for all expenses, I had to realistically evaluate what defines a want vs. a need. Cable and internet? Gone, replaced by Red Box. Going out to lunch every day? Doesn’t happen, replaced by a brown bag. New clothes? Purchased only when truly needed. Painful decisions, hard to adjust to, that eliminated luxuries enjoyed by a girl who couldn’t afford them: Me.

Incidentally, the same girl who’s traveling to four out-of-state marathons next year, all which involve hefty registration fees, airline tickets, and hotel stays.

My mom pointed out if I stopped doing them for a while, I’d save a significant amount of money. And she’s right. But at the mere mention of this, my head started reeling. So I started working more part-time events, started clipping more coupons, and started watching prices even more closely. Still not satisfied, I brainstormed with friends who referred me to a credit union. Finally, a financial solution was discovered that allows me to both achieve my financial goals and travel for my marathons.

Books like The Secret claim if we think about something long enough, “the universe” will hand it over. Just like that. And while I think this is a load of crap, I can relate to an indirect truth to this theory.

I believe if we want something bad enough, and we think about it long enough, we become obsessed with it. And once we are obsessed with it, giving up on it is not an option. And because we refuse to give up, we are pushed to come  up with creative solutions we may not have otherwise spent time researching and considering.

I’m in budget mode. But come hell or high water, those 50 states are getting done. No matter what, that’s the one thing I won’t give up.

What’s yours?

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Posted in Budget, Marathons, Running, Traveling

Top Five Friday: Top 5 Cheap Ways to Spend a Summer Weekend

Posted on June 29, 2012 | 2 Comments

It’s summer, it’s the weekend, and I’m in major budget mode. But that doesn’t mean I have to spend the weekend moping about my lack of extra money. All I need is an open mind and I’m able to enjoy a couple of days off from work, frugal style.

My top five ways to be cheap on a summer weekend:

5. Workout

I already pay for my gym membership, so I may as well use it, right? And to train for my next marathon, all I have to do is run out the front door. I can stay on track with training, burn extra calories, and feel better about myself without spending a dime.

4. Clean

I’m talking move-the-furniture cleaning. The kind you do only when you are having a party with a ton of people coming over. Window treatments, under the bed, under the couches - all those areas that get overlooked on a normal weekend.

3. Donations

Jeans, t-shirts, shoes, shorts, jewelry….do I really need all of this stuff? Why am I saving things I haven’t worn in over 3 years? It’s been ages since I’ve completely taken apart the closet. I have a feeling I’m going to find a lot I don’t need.

2. Reading

I have piles of books waiting to be read and a library literally out my back door. It’s cheap,free, and interesting entertainment that often gets pushed aside when I’m over-planned.

1. Relax

Budget mode = less planned = less to stress about.

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Posted in Budget, Top 5 Friday

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Top 10 Things I’m Going to do if I Win the Lottery Tonight

Posted on March 30, 2012 | 6 Comments

Today I took a late lunch break and drove to the Milio’s down the street for a sub. This particular sandwich shop just so happens to be located in a gas station. An advertisement to Win it Big! was front and center. And so this afternoon, for the first time in my adult life, I purchased a Mega Millions lottery ticket.

It didn’t take long (as in, I hadn’t even gotten back into my car yet) when I started daydreaming about all the things I would do with the money.

Behold, the top 10 things I will do if I win the lotto tonight:

10. Pay off all my debt. This is a huge focus of mine right now, and was the very first thing that came to mind. I can just imagine the satisfaction of paying off credit cards, student loans, my car loan, and my entire mortgage in a single day. 

9. Buy a new car. Two, actually. An Audi Q5 for fall and winter, and an Audi TT convertible for spring and summer.

8. Set up an appointment with a financial advisor. Logic suggests this be the first thing someone do upon winning the lottery, but I’m confident I could pay off my debt and buy two cars within an hour of receiving my lump sum. Plus, I’d want to be debt free once I arrived, ya know? Then we could discuss what I would need in order to be set for life, and how much “fun money” I had per year / month / week.

7. Set up a college fund for my niece, Grace. And while we’re at it, set up funds for all my family members. Despite them driving me nuts sometimes, I’d want to make sure everyone was financially taken care of.

6. Travel. This includes my journey to run a marathon in every state, as well as additional travel opportunities. I’d spare no expense, staying in the most premier of hotels and sightseeing at the coolest of places.

5. Live in Australia for 6 months. I studied abroad in Australia for an entire college semester and fell in love with Sydney. It remains my favorite city in the world. When I’m there, I feel so…relaxed, and at home. While there, I would fly out all my friends who studied abroad at the same time, for a reunion party. Which I would throw, of course.

4. Donate to a charity. One I have always loved is the Make-A-Wish foundation, but why stop there? I’d research and look into various charities around the world to see where my money could help.

3. Write my novel. I am in the middle of this now, and will certainly accomplish this without winning the lottery. But it would be nice to take time to dive into it without distractions. I’d sign up for workshops and classes, to better my writing.

2. Go on a major shopping spree. Without a budget or debt to worry about, I could afford nicer clothes and shoes. I’m thinking JC Penny’s vs. Target. Mostly because I know nothing about name brands.

1. Go back to work. There’s nothing worse than being bored. If the book thing were to pan out, then I could consider writing novels as my job. Or, perhaps I’d stay in the hotel business since I love it. Either way, I can’t imagine not working.

Once I finished my list I came to an amazing realization: It may take a lot longer, and may be harder, but I have the ability to complete all ten of the items without winning the lottery.

But I’m still going to check the numbers on my ticket later.

If you win tonight, what will you do?

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Posted in Budget, Family, Friendship, Traveling

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I’m In Love!

Posted on January 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m in love! His first name is “Remote,” last name “Start.” We have a dependable two-way communication that never fails. When the Wisconsin weather is gloomy and cold, he is nothing short of reliable. And quite chivalrous, too! Despite not having a garage, my car is always heated up in the bitter, snowy, and cold Wisconsin winters.

We all know I cancelled cable, internet, and curbed any sort of “extra” spending this year (though I plan to make an exception when it comes to traveling for my marathons). Despite all of this budgeting, I’m quite convinced remote start is one luxury item I could not live without. The other? My Keurig coffee maker.

I may not have a dishwasher, the ability to surf the web at home, a covered spot for my vehicle, or an easy way to catch up on Grey’s Anatomy but my God this woman is gonna have damn good coffee and a warm car!

Yesterday I attended a tourism exchange and had the pleasure of listening to a great presenter. She discussed current studies reflect we are spending less overall, but spending more on specific items. We are choosing carefully, and gladly paying up for those choices.

It got me thinking. What are the things I “can’t live without” and how do I arrive at the conclusion I need  something vs. I want  something. How do I decide what to sacrifice in order to save money, and what factors influence those decisions?

As I become more involved in my career, and spend more hours in the office, I notice many of my luxury items revolve around saving time. I’m willing to pay more for things that make my life easier. In return, I’m able to spend an extra few minutes finishing up emails, or sending out contracts. It’s the checking-book equivalent of the circle of life. Money in from the job, money out on things to cater to a career-minded lifestyle.

Which makes me curious. What luxury items can’t you live without?

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The Thing About Diets

Posted on December 11, 2011 | 2 Comments

In theory, diets are so simple. It’s basic logic, really: eat healthy, exercise more, and the numbers on the scale will decrease.  The same applies to my budget plan: spend less, save more, and the dollars in debt will decrease.

But the thing about diets is they suck.

Turns out, budgeting isn’t a picnic, either. The last official weekend with service, I prepared to cancel DirectTV by camping out in my basement watching all the shows still on my DVR. I sent out some melodramatic tweets, and said goodbye to comfy nights in pajamas and fast forwarding through commercial breaks after long days at work. It was the couch potato equivalent of eating an entire chocolate cake the night before starting a new diet.

Similar to the way I execute diets, on the day I planned to make this big change, I failed. I got home from work much later than anticipated, and it just seemed like too much of a hassle to change into gym clothes and drive somewhere to watch television, never mind workout. After all, wine and a remote control were right downstairs. I needed just one more day.

The next day over lunch, my guilt and determination dialed the 800 number to take care of it. And just like that, I had a television that only worked when watching something on the DVD player. Budget mode, whether I liked it or not, had begun.

It’s only been a week, but I’ve reluctantly managed to make some changes. I now brown bag my lunch every day. Considering I usually eat at my desk, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple will do. Recently, I was the recipient of a Target gift card. In the past I absolutely would have justified fun purchases that I truly don’t need, especially since this was a gift. Instead, I used it to buy necessities and finish most of my Christmas shopping. While I haven’t rented anything from Red Box yet, it’s great to know a movie is just a dollar away. When I need to use my laptop, a cheap cup of coffee down the street gets me a table, chair, outlet, and free Wi-Fi. As for my favorite shows, I made a schedule so I know when to head over to the gym and watch them while working out on a treadmill.

Honestly, the thing about diets and budgets is they are easy to plan. Simple, disciplined, calculated logic helps you reach the results you want over time. But since you got yourself to a place where you needed a plan to undo years of bad habits, right now I have only one thought.

This sucks.

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A Penny Saved

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 4 Comments

As we approach St. Nick’s Day, I fondly think of my baby brother.

Years ago on the night of December 5th, we had just finished explaining St. Nick would deliver coins and candies in any shoes left outside his door overnight. After hearing this, he proceeded to sneak around the house collecting as many shoes as he could find. He managed to swipe several pairs from each of our closets. He then set them all out, pair by pair, in front of his door.

My mom, being a good sport, put pennies and candies in each and every shoe. He was *beyond* excited when he woke up the next morning, delightfully adding and re-adding all of his coins throughout the day. He was convinced he had outsmarted St. Nick and the rest of us.

Cue in 2011. At 31, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m living on my own with my small  petting zoo and a passion for traveling and marathons. Money, or a lack thereof,  as always been something on my mind. I’d like to do Ironman 2013. I’d like to have more spending money. I’d like to have a bigger savings account and a separate “In Case of Emergency” account. To do all of this, I need to pay off my credit card debt. With December 6th approaching, it would be great if I could just set a few pairs of shoes outside my door and collect some extra money. But, the world doesn’t work that way.

Instead, I put the word out to friends who needed cat sitters, dog sitters, house sitters, and baby sitters that I was for hire. I cancelled my online dating site subscription. I then re-evaluated my budget to figure out where to make cuts. A quick call to DirectTV revealed my contract was up soon and I could officially cancel cable as of December 6th. I had to make a decision.

Minor panic set in. Could I actually go *without* television?

After an hour of deliberation, I decided yes – in my own home, at least. I can take the $77 per month spent on DirectTV and put it into debt. I won’t buy the equipment needed to watch free local channels. Anytime I need  want to watch television, there are some perfectly good sets attached to equipment at the gym. Castle on Monday nights? It’s the same show playing on a treadmill as it is from my basement. Grey’s Anatomy? The plot doesn’t change when watching on a stationary bike. And Pan Am and Revenge will come in just fine from an elliptical machine.

Then I remembered work will reimburse us $50 (taxed) if we go to a gym at least 12 times per month. Add that to the $77 additional debt payment and we’re on a roll. Oh and hey – not going on those blind dates will cut down on purchasing new clothes and money spent on drinks and appetizers. And wait a minute…I can brown bag my lunch to work every day and cut down on my Subway spending.

I’m 100% committing all of these financial changes starting on St. Nick’s Day: December 6th. Just as St. Nick is fiction, so is the idea that I can’t make cuts to my expenses. And while my mother may not be sneaking extra pennies into my shoes at night, looks like I found a way to outsmart my own budget.

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Posted in Budget, Family

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