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Posts Tagged ‘Money’

  1. Our Latest Big Thing

    February 27, 2015 by admin

    farmhouse_1_mdWe have recently been thrown into a home search.  With our landlord unexpectedly selling the property where we live, we’ve been given notice to find a new place.  We’ve been renting for five years, so our first plan was to find another rental property.

    But…

    In a twist of life events that surprised this TR family, we are instead cautiously moving forward with exploring home ownership.  This is a nerve wracking experience as we are financially conservative and solidly working class.

    We have been renters for many years following some significant life events that left us financially devastated.  Our climb to recovery has been slow and steady.  We’ve been back on our feet for a few years now.  And when we examined the amount of money we throw away by renting (more than 1200 a month!), it seemed ludicrous not to try out home ownership.

    Obviously, we want to stay well within our means.  No palatial spread on acres of land is in our immediate future.  So how do we do it?  How do we find that perfectly sized, affordable home that is within our current school district?

    We began by reaching out to a mortgage lender to assure that we would indeed qualify for a home loan.  This involved a lot of gathering of documents and precise communication about our borrowing goal.  We then began investigating our market.

    There are a few critical pieces to our search of homes- www.realtor.com and www.accesdane.countyofdane.com (do a google search for your county’s property assessment and tax information ).  These two sites give us a wealth of pertinent information about any property that piques our interest.

    As with any big project, we are keen to stay organized and focused to successfully find a new home.

    We print out properties that we want to pursue and keep them tabbed in a 3-ring binder.  We plan to utilize a rating system to determine which homes should be visited first.  We’ll make notes within the binder after our walk through of each property.  Our hope is that this will streamline our decision making and ease some of the stress involved in finding a suitable house.

    Stay tuned!

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  2. Digital Coupons

    January 9, 2015 by admin

    IMG_9688We are a couponing family. Growing up with couponing parents, we can’t resist following suit and teaching our kiddos the skills to knock down the prices of their favorite finds.  We haven’t quite mastered the art, so we’re not what you’d call ‘extreme couponers.’  But we’re always researching and growing our resources for maximum cost savings.

    We figure every penny saved adds to our opportunity to go out and have more adventures or allows us to buy more supplies for the next big art project.

    A lot of folks seem to think that couponing takes a ton of time. They can’t be bothered with the gathering, sorting, and scissoring. And forget about remembering to bring those little bits of paper along on a shopping trip.

    Welcome to the digital age! We have some favorite mobile coupon apps that are a snap to use and will save you money 90% of the time.

    Cartwheel for Target:  When this app was first released, TRMom hated it. But now, thanks to Target’s fixes to its shortcomings, it is in constant use. We especially like the feature that allows you to scan products. Once the barcode is read, the app will tell you whether or not a cartwheel savings exists!IMG_9687

    Tip1: Target will price match to Cartwheel (and other store circulars) for any purchases made within 7 days as long as you have your receipt. This was a huge bonus at Christmas when prices were constantly moving.

    Flipp:  You no longer need to go through store circulars. This app gathers all that information for you. Curious about who might have the best price on Beneful dog food? Search in Flipp and find out. Stores like Walmart will price match to competitors circulars.

    Tip2: Check the price matching policy of each and every store prior to shopping. Walmart has an incredibly lenient price match policy but Target is rather strict.

    There is really no excuse to pay full price for a ton of items. Download some mobile apps today and start saving!

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: ,,,, | Comments Off on Digital Coupons

  3. Little Saver

    June 11, 2014 by admin

    We’ve been teaching our young Bluey the value of saving his money.

    We recently got a bank account for Bluey and Plum when our bank opened a branch within walking distance of our home. So we periodically take a walk to the bank and deposit a few dollars that we hope will pile up into something big in their future.IMG_6330

    But we’ve also been tackling the other end of the saving spectrum: purchasing. We’re trying to help our Bluey learn not to blow through all of his spending money every time he has a few beans in his pocket.

    What if, instead of buying a thing you don’t really want so much, you saved your money until another time? Then you could buy yourself one of the bigger ticket items that has caught your eye.

    So far, the process is working pretty well. Bluey has a piggy bank allocated for short-term savings goals.  When he skips buying a small toy, he puts his money in there. He’s starting to see that if he foregoes a few purchases, he can later afford something really, really cool.

    It’s a start. We know Bluey will still be attracted to nifty little things at various gift shops and stores we visit.  But our hope is that with each purchase deferred, he’ll learn more clearly the value of saving up for the things that really matter to him.

    Category Money and Finance | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on Little Saver

  4. Der Handy

    January 15, 2014 by admin

    We have previously discussed the value of getting on the phone with companies small and multinational to solve problems, negotiate better services, or gather information.  Your cell phone provider is no exception to this.IMG_1331

    We recommend that you find time to talk to your cell phone provider about your plan about once a year.

    Your phone company may have a web-based source for information, but we find it more helpful to talk to a live person.  This may take some time, but once you get connected you may find the representative has powers to change your billing that you aren’t seeing on the website.

    Talk with your provider about minutes, about texts and about data.  Depending on your phone type, and usage patterns you could be in the wrong plan.  Are you paying for 200 texts a month that you never send?  Or are you paying per text, when you should be on a plan?  These are the questions to uncover.  The answers could lead to savings of $20 or more dollars per month.

    Ask if your phone company has any special deals for military families, retirees or even members of a credit union.  All could apply and could alter your total bill.

    Tip:  If you talk/ text to people in other countries, be sure to ask about that.  We recently learned that texts to Canada are charged differently than US texts.  And also differently, depending on what phone you and the receiver are using.

    An hour on the phone with your cell company could end up saving you many dollars, without switching providers, getting a new phone, or a new number.

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on Der Handy

  5. Allowances

    September 20, 2013 by admin

    piggy-bank-on-moneyThere are arguments for and against giving a child an allowance every month.  We made the decision to give our Plum $10 a month because we were downright tired of hearing, “can I get this…or can I have that…”  And we wanted her to develop the necessary skills involved when handling money:  budgeting, accounting, responsibility, safe keeping, etc.

    But once we executed this decision, we didn’t do much else-  until recently.

    We discussed with Plum that we would make a change to the way we provide her allowance.  We were inspired, in part, by a discussion heard on NPR.

    Now 20% of Plum’s allowance will automatically go into a savings account, 20% will go to a charitable cause of her choice, and 60% will go directly to Plum for her own spending on her own terms.  We will not control her withdrawals from the savings account.  But we will engage in a discussion over whether or not she really wants, or needs, to us those funds.

    Plum is excited as she loves supporting non profits, she has been struggling to save for larger purchases, and she gets to open her very first bank account.  It certainly feels like a move in the right direction for this TR family!

    Category Money and Finance, Parenting | Tags: ,,,, | Comments Off on Allowances

  6. Cash and Carry: Cut The Cards!

    January 1, 2013 by admin

    With a New Year beginning, many of us take a fresh look at personal finances and we consider how to improve the standing of our families.  This a great time to eliminate (or at least reduce!)  credit cards in your life.

    Part of our continuing series on worry-free cash management.

    It is so easy to run into money problems in our Credit or Debit world.   If you are trying to maintain a tighter money ship, you probably already know that you should avoid credit cards. If not, let’s be clear:

    Avoid Credit Cards!

    Yes, this can be harder than it sounds.  We know there are times when expenses must end up on credit.  But it should happen only in an Emergency.  Ultimately, credit cards are a trap.  They suck away the money that you could be spending on cool adventures with your family.  So you need to stop using plastic for average purchases.

    If you are in the habit of using credit cards, or if you have “Emergencies” more than once a month, then you are hooked on plastic!!  You need to find a way to break this habit.  We suggest you begin by immediately creating a Monthly Budget.

    You won’t get much of a handle on your credit cards unless you understand where you are wasting money and then figure out a way to stop it.  A budget will help you find a balance between your income and expenses. It will also help you spot places to cut back on your expenditures.

    We recommend that you itemize each purchase that you put on credit.  Start by keeping your receipts and/or go through a recent bank statement very carefully.  Sort your purchases into categories, like “Real Emergency”, “Snacks”, “Splurge At Target” etc, to understand the expenses that you should try to find a way to pay with in cash.

    This is an eye-opening experience for many people.  We all tend to pull out the credit cards thinking something like, “Well, I’ll send in an extra big payment this month, and that will even things out.”  But if you are living on a tight income, you might not be able to send out much over the minimum payment.  Then the interest kicks in on your bill– and that is the start of major trouble.  Or you send that extra big payment, but now you have to pay a different bill late.  And the fees kick in on that late bill– and you are again in trouble!

    If you discover that you over-use your credit cards, try the following:

    > Figure out how much money you really make each month.  Many people over-estimate their income by neglecting to consider taxes and insurance plans that reduce their take-home pay.

    > Figure out a realistic budget for your groceries and other household expenses.   Pay careful attention to snack foods (including coffee) and lunches.  These are common areas where people most often over-spend.

    > Find places in your budget where you can lower expenses, like Car Insurance, Cable TV and Cell Phone plans.  These are all expenses that can often be lowered just by getting in touch with customer service and saying that you want a package that lowers your bill.  And if these providers can’t lower a bill, you can often rework a package so that you get more bang for you buck: more channels, lower deductibles, etc.

    > Create a plan to pay down and ultimately pay off your existing credit card debt.  Start with concentrating on one card and when you reach a ZERO balance, cut it up and move on to the next card.

    We’ll help you fine tune these steps in a future post, but you need to get started on the basics now.  A great tip is to simply stop carrying your credit cards around in your wallet.  If the tempting plastic isn’t with you, at least you will have to think about your purchases more carefully.

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