Thrift-o-rama

I am giving myself a new money challenge.

I'm a freelancer, so I get paid by the project. I can;t always control the pay rate, but I have a little more control over how many projects I take on.

To give myself a goal and more motivation, I am awarding all my projects "freelance points."

For my weekly column, I am giving myself 1 point for every one I finish.

I'd like to average at least one more project per month in addition to that. For each extra project, I am giving myself 2 points.

If I meet my goals, I will have 76 "points" at the end of this year

52 points from my weekly columns
and 24 points from the one extra project per month I'd like to have.

I think I am ahead of the game so far. I have all of my weekly columns, plus I've had three extra projects this month, so that's 6 points to the 24 I need.

I took the plunge and ordered our new cooktop yesterday. I have waited 6 weeks for an appliance sale only to turn up empty-handed, so we decided to just pay full price. (Although, when I ordered it, I found out it was on sale, though only about $23 off, which is kind of a weird amount to be on sale).

Normally, I wait for sales. But we are still cooking on the original 1957 electric cooktop that came with our house. It is in sad shape! We are down to two burners, and one of the good ones is starting to go bad.

It takes three weeks for the special order cooktops to arrive, so if you add that, plus the time to have it installed and the gas line run, and we're looking at a month at least before our new cooktop is up and running.

Right now, we are racing against the clock! Can our old stove last one more month after 53 years of dutiful service? I sure hope so!!

This got me thinking about how many appliances these days will last 53 years? Not many. Our stove in our last house was a 1953 O'Keefe and Merrit and the thing is still baking and cooking perfectly. They literally don't make them like that any more.

In other shopping news, I did get a second chance on an item I saw about a month ago on the clearance rack at Kohl's. it's a black fitted blazer/tuxedo jacket that fits perfectly. I originally turned it down, but had been kicking myself. Well, it was there when I went there yesterday. Marked down to $24 from $60. I paid zero because I used a gift card. Not too shabby.

I had a thought today. I've been covering a securities fraud trial for a news wire service for two years now, and every time there is a new round of legal problems for the accused, I make cover the proceedings, which means I make money. ergo, these people's legal woes= I make more money.

It's a little weird. I have to cover a bail hearing Tuesday, so I was thinking about it.

In other news, I bought the new cooktop today. it was only on sale to the tune of $23 off. Kind of a weird number, but better than nothing. I considered getting a store credit card because I could have saved about $60 due to an in-store promotion. But, I hate store credit cards.

I've been waiting around to order my new cooktop from a big box store. I want to wait until there is a sale. But things are getting desperate. My current cooktop alal 1957 is down to 1 and a half working burners. I can't wait much longer, especially considering special order takes 21 days.

When do these things go on sale? I am hoping President's Day is the answer!!

Okay, so 2010 isn't going swimmingly savings wise. I've had to take money out of savings to cover bills the last two months, hence the reason my savings goals have increased from $10,000 to $12,000.

I guess I should expect it. This time of year is usually pretty thin as far as money because we have to pay our property tax, home owners and car insurance, gym memberships (not a normal gym, a community center with lots of stuff for the kids, so it's worth it). This year is no different than most.

We usually start getting ahead again in March, because the bills are paid, we file our taxes and often get a refund, and sometimes hubby gets an annual bonus at work. This year, though, who knows.

On the upswing, I have lost 3 pounds, so 7 more and I will be in good shape. I'm too cheap to pay for yoga classes, so I use the DVR to tape shows off of FitTV, and bean and I sneak downstairs while Squiddy is napping to do a 20-minute show. It's kind of fun.

I am also planning to sell some of the supplies from my craft closet and do a craft show with a friend later this year, and will put the proceeds into the tiki bar fund. Last craft show, I had profits north of $300 for about a week's worth of sewing and a fun day at the booth.

When I get my first freelance checks of the year, I will put some of that toward my IRA, the tiki fund, and self-employed tax bill. Can't wait to get those checks!

On another note, I started the savings accounts for the babies. We are giving them each $1 a week in allowance, plus adding in money from gifts and such. I figure we'll get a jump on savings before they like to buy stuff!

So, of course I am having a Superbowl party since the Saints are in for the first time ever. I've never had one before and I have no idea how many people are coming, but I think I have overdone it.

I am making two pots of red beans and rice (one reg., one vegetarian.) Picking up a giant box of Popeye's, making hurricanes (REAL ones, not the Pat O'Brien's blech), and the king cake from Haydel's arrived this morning. I'm also making chocolate cupcakes with yellow icing-- the closest I can come to black and gold. Plus, I have fleur-de-lis cupcake toppers and a giant Saints banner to hang.

It will be a true New Orleans food experience for all of my new Ohio friends. It should be interesting. Albeit a spendy treat.

So, hubby was asked to attend a "Global outsourcing" meeting today at work. I am hoping he still has a job when he gets home.

Here's the rub. If he gets laid off, he may have another job--in Houston. I am not a fan of Houston.

If we went there, we'd have no friends, no family, no babysitters and two kids under 2. Sounds like a nightmare.

So what do you do if that's the job you can get?

Do you move whole hog?
Do you send hubby there alone to telecommute?
Do you split your time 50/50 between here and there?

What are the options???
I hope we don't have to seriously think about this, but just in case, I want to have some ideas.

I started the year with a goal to earn a minimum of $500 a month from regular freelance work. It doesn't sound like a lot, but with two babies and me having to do all of my work at night... Well, yeah, it can be a lot.

I'm happy to report I exceeded this for January, bringing in $750, and I am on track to bring in about $1100 in February. Woo-hoo! Of course, I will have to pay a big chunk of that in taxes, but it feels nice to meet the goal and have some steady work coming in.

2009 was hard. My and hubby's freelance work dried up. It became clear exactly by how much when I started looking at our taxes. In 2008, we made $28,000 in side income after expenses, and in 2009, it was only $3400. That's a huge difference.

Here's hoping 2010 is better!

It's been a fight-tastic weekend. Hubby and I haven't talked all day. We are arguing over our wills. He doesn't want to pay a lawyer to do it because he thinks it's a racket and a scam, but I say we need help making sure our stuff is in order. we have kids now, we need to make sure they are take care of. We need to have a clause that sets up a trust for the kids in the event that we both die. We can't do that ourselves.

It's not something I can do without him, or I would have. I'm just so tired of arguing with him over this kind of adult stuff. He has no problem dropping $2,000 on a ski trip, but try to spend that on a will and it's a fight.

I have never heard of this book or system before. It's like Weight Watcher only for your money. It sounds like it could be effective, although time consuming.

OK. So, you know I am from New Orleans, and we are going to our first superbowl ever. I don't care about football, but I care about the Saints. It's such a HUGE deal that they are playing in the game for the first time ever.

Anyway, one of my best friends recorded an original song and video for the occasion, called "Who Gonna Win Dat Superbowl" and it's hilarious. Please watch if you have time:

Huh. Weird. I realized today that this process of clearing things out, going through every drawer and throwing or giving things away is making me spend less money. I guess all of that stuff I'm not using that I spent money on and have now given away is at the front of my mind when I am out at the store. It's making the idea buying more stuff that will just get lost in drawers and such less appealing.

Now that I have cable TV, I have also started watching the shows Clean House and Hoarders. Boy, talk about problems resulting from living in a culture of consumerism and unlimited shopping opportunities. Those shows also make me want to clean up and clear out!

I'm on a serious decluttering kick. I think I'm up to 225 purge points.

So, I decided to tackle the linen closet. I took all of the towels out and realized I have 23 of them crammed onto two tiny shelved. I had no idea I had so many, and this doesn't even count the babies' towels. Geesh.

I think I can do with half that or less.
How many towels do you have hanging around? Am I the only one who thinks this is tooo many?

I can't believe January is almost over. It's been such a busy blur!

It's been a long time coming, but I think I am ready to post my new goals:

2010:

$10,000 to savings
$4620 to Bean's college funds
$4620 to Squid's college funds
$4,000 to my IRA
$600 more to new car fund

Other goals:
To pay for these major costs out of cash flow, not savings
New gas cooktop
New kitchen counters
New car (preferrably a hybrid)

**Non-money goals**
Lose 10 more pounds
Can 24 quarts from the garden
Plan European and Mexico vacations for 2010-2011

Phew. Not as ambitious as the last few years, but let's face it. Our income has dropped a lot since the Wall Street meltdown, because our sidework has all but disappeared. This has put a dent in our stockpiling goals, but we are still doing the best we can. These new goals are still a bit of a stretch and will require a significant monthly commitment. Let's hope we can make it!

points from previous purge: 208.5
from today's drawer cleaning

2 more items to sell = 6 points
10 more to give away= 15 points

229.5 total

Thanks for reminding me, Ima! This is my half bath:





There's much more on the wall you can't see, but y'all get the idea.

Hubby and I went through our closets and dressers today, getting rid of clothes we don't wear, don't love, or that don't fit anymore.

36 items to consignment store=108 points
67 items to thrift store= 100.5

I'm amazed we even had that much stuff to give away.

We still have more areas of the house to tackle. It's kind of fun assigning a point value...

I noticed a lot of folks blogging about points when they are getting rid of stuff. Can someone explain to me what's going on? Did I miss something?

Hubby and I have been talking, and it seems like 2010 is shaping up to be an expensive year.

We need to buy a new car. We have a crappy 1998 Chrysler we inherited from my dad.(We call it dad's last laugh). The repairs are getting bigger and more frequent, and it's to the point that I feel nervous driving my children around in it because it's only a matter of time before it just quits.

We have a few options for buying a car. We could use our tax refund (usually 10k) plus pay the rest out of savings. (If the car lasts until we get the refund...). We could pay 10k out of savings and finance the rest. We need to really talk about it, what kind of car we want, what to test drive, and how to pay for it. I think we will do new, because we drive cars until they die, so it'd be nice to start with something solid. We also want a hybrid, an electric car, or a Fit, and they are harder to find used.

We need a new cooktop. Two of the four burners on our original 1957 cooktop no longer work and making dinner is now becoming difficult, slow and frustrating. We have talked about new countertops as well, as we have the original 1957 counters and they are not in good shape. They are significantly damaged in several spots and stained all over. Replacing them was on our to-do list when we bought the house. And, what better time than when you have to install a new cooktop anyway? For a cooktop, converting from electric to gas, and for quartz (read:indestructible) countertops, we figure the kitchen will cost us a total of $5k max.

We need to add insulation to the attic, at a bare minimum. I do want to look at having insulation blown in to the exterior walls as well. I haven't researched this as far as cost or if it's a good idea. This would help us meet our green goals and help us save money on heating and cooling.

So that's big stuff. Other than the car, I want to pay for everything out of cashflow, not savings.

As far as my financial goals for 2010:
I don't have the total numbers calculated, but my goals is to put $10,000 in savings, fund the 529s to the tune of $4,000, plus at least $4,000 more into the extra college savings account. I'd also like to put $3,000 to $5,000 into my IRA, and keep adding to the new car fund.

I am on my way to meeting my goal of getting a base level of freelance income, thanks to the gig I just got at my former job. That'll be about $8000 this year if it all works out.

In addition to earning more, I'd like to work on the spending side of our balance sheet, and spend less. We've managed to save in the past without serious cutting, but I think we can do so much better, and probably without any tangible decline in our quality of life. So, if it doesn't feed us, house us or make us happier, it's out.

As far as my personal goals... Number one on the list is to be ORGANIZED and ELIMINATE CLUTTER.

Despite what seem like constant trips to the goodwill drop off, we still have way too much stuff. With two kids under 2, I just don't have time to clean and clear constantly. My solution? Get rid of all but the necessary items so there's less to clean!! We are going to try to go minimalist this year, and add some storage WITH DOORS, so things look clean even when they aren't, and get rid of anything we don't love or that isn't useful.

Number 2 for me is to be healthy and try to do 3, 30-minute workouts a week. To save money, I am just going to DVR workouts from the FitTV station. They look kind of cool.

My hope is that this will lead to 10 pounds of weight loss by the end of the year. I'm not fat, technically. I'm just 20 pound heavier than I was when I got married 8 years ago--and before I had two kids. Luckily I'm tall, so I tend to look lighter than I really am (in clothes...), but I know what I look like under those clothes, and I want that to look better!

I lost 8 pounds this year, despite just having had a baby. I have the gestational diabetes diet to thank for that (silver lining??)

So, 2010 is a tall order, but I'm feeling optimistic.

It's been a hard five years. In 2005, our lives hit an oil patch. Our lives changed over night because of a hurricane, so we sold our house, found new jobs, bought a house 1000 miles north.

A couple of months after we got settled my grandmother died. Then, seven months later, grandpa died. I was devasted, but I wasn't through the worst yet.

Six months after grandpa died I found out I was pregnant, then six months after that I found out my dad had terminal cancer. We all just prayed he'd live long enough to meet his only grandson.

When baby Bean was 3 months old, dad died. And when Bean was 11 monts old, we found out he was going to be a big brother.

It's been six weeks since Baby Bean Too arrived. we get 2 hours a sleep a night at a time. Things are hectic with a toddler and a newborn.

It's been nonstop action for 5 years, and frankly, I need to regroup.

So, it's a new year. What better time to at least put some thought into regrouping??

I'll probably post some silly ruminations along those lines int he next couple of days.

I made it through Christmas, even though I was powerless to stop Hubby's Horrible Aunt from coming. If you remember my last post, we didn't want her here because she
A. tried to molest my hubby when he was younger
B. is really mean and always makes rude comments
C. is so out of it from medications that she is unpredictable.

So yeah, I won't go into all the gory details about why I couldn't prevent her from coming. I'll just say that even though hubby and his parents don't love her or want to be with her, they feel a moral obligation to invite her for holidays. So we all suffered.

I am putting my foot down: NEVER AGAIN!!!

It was awful. On Christmas morning,she accused me of stealing money from her, while putting her hand in the pocket of my pajamas to look for it!!! Uh what??? I am still fuming over this one. I won't even mention the irrational 15 minute crying fit at 8 a.m. that started off Christmas morning.

After Christmas Eve dinner, she yelled at my mother for "not including" her. I don't know how she felt excluded sitting down eating dinner with all of us, but even so, you do not yell at MY MOTHER and someone who just fed you a delicious homemade holiday meal.

And finally...
She stayed at a hotel not far from us. Of course, she complained about it. She said she didn't feel safe because the phone in her room didn't work. Funny, she called me from that phone at least once a day.

As a result, she managed to convince hubby to let her sleep at our house the last night. We gave up the room where we take turns staying up all night with our 6 week old baby. We made up the bed, then she refused to sleep on it and insisted that she sleep on our new sofa in the living room, even though we need to walk through there to get formula all night. She argued with us for an hour. Hubby didn't want her to sleep on the sofa, and this is awful, because she smells of cigarette smoke. The smell is so strong, our living room smelled like that all weekend, and we didn't want it soaking into our new sofa.

She fought with us for an hour about where to sleep.

I have never been so frustrated by someone in my life. NEVER AGAIN!!!

I just got a new freelance gig from one of my old employers. One news column a week at $150 a pop, so about $7800 a year if I can get through it. I said yes.

It's hard juggling two babies under 2 but I figure I need to take this in order to stay in the game. It's a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

Plus, in this economy, I don't think it's right to turn down an opportunity to make money.

Ok, so I know the SPIRIT of Christmas is kindness and good cheer and all that. I am going to rant about this even at the risk of sounding like an awful person.

This is the first year we are hosting Christmas, with my family and the in-laws together all at our house. That isn't a problem. I was really looking forward to it-- until today.

The in-laws are driving in from New England, which is great.

The problem is that hubby has an aunt who is one of the most unsavory people I have ever met, and she is coming with them. She is super negative and always blurts out rude and offensive comments at every gathering. She is generous, but always with a catch or some sort of weirdness attached to it.

She is a hoarder who lives alone in a house filled with garbage and boxes piled to the ceiling, she is diabetic but doesn't treat it, so she is half blind on pain pills and limping everywhere from the sores on her feet and legs. This means we will have to go extra out of our way to take care of her, even though no on really wants to. (Sounds mean, but it's true)

But the icing on the cake?? She tried to molest my hubby when he was a young teen.

Well, I just found out that she is tagging along for Christmas. It is a big deal because her own family doesn't like her and doesn't want her to come, but they all feel too guilty not to invite her. Basically, they feel obligated to bring her, even though no one really wants to spend the holiday with her, just because she has no one else in her life.

I feel like we are all being made to suffer for her dysfunction and her life choices. And I'm not super comfortable having a woman who put the moves on her own nephew around my two young sons. I don't trust her judgment because it is very clear it's not good.

I know this sounds terribly mean, but you can't possibly know what a black cloud she carries with her. every word otu of her mouth is awful. She is either telling some story about how her mother tolder her she would get raped if she didn't run right home from school (!!!!) or saying that people who do certain jobs are morally reprehensible and dirty ( I had to laugh because on the last visit, she went on and on about how truck drivers are evil...) This woman has been kicked out of church and civic groups for making mean comments! How hard is it to get kicked out of the church choir??

If she weren't such a mean person, this wouldn't be an issue. I can't fault people for their health or their choices, but please, people, be nice. Who wants to hang out with someone who is bitter, dysfunctional, and clearly has some mental health issues?

Bean 2's SSN arrived today. That was super fast. So, I opened his state 529 plan today. I am going to fully fund it this month, up to the $2,000 state tax deduction. About $1500 of it will come from savings.

We also have a second brokerage account for the Beans, where we add another $2,620 a year for each of them for college. My goal is also to put 2009 money in for Bean 2. (Bean 1 is funded for the year), with as much coming from regular income as possible. It's likely about half will have to come from the savings account.

Our goal is to have $100,000 for each of them for college when they reach 18. We came to the magic number --$4620 a year-- by assuming a conservative 2 percent return on investment. We sure don't have much faith in the market, do we??

Hubby is freaking out a little today. He says he feels poor now that he knows we give our friend and baby whisperer $80 a week yo watch Bean. I say money well spent. We get a decent chunk of time for that, Bean is with someone who genuinely cares about him, he gets to play with another baby his age while he's there, and they do lots of fun, creative things together that I wouldn't necessarily think to do with him.

Today hubby said I'd better get back to work, sighing "kids are sooooo expensive" under his breath. So funny. I usually am the needless hand-wringer!

When I have freelance work to cover the sitter, it's a no brainer. But, right now things are slow for both of our freelance jobs, so I think he is just having a bit of anxiety about money. We are doing just fine on his salary--even saving money every month.

Maybe I need to have another money sit-down with him. It might make him feel better. I handle all the money issues, and he doesn't really know how much is where.I try to go over it with him at least every 6 months, but it doesn't always happen.

I send Bean to the sitter even when I don't have work. When I was preggo, it gave me a chance to rest and to get things done ahead of Bean Two. Now, it's giving us a chance to nap and spend time alone with the new baby. It's so worth it!

Today was a nice, tranquil day at home with both the babies and grandma. It's crazy to think that our family is all there-- as in, we planned for two kids, now we've got both and well, that's everybody-- and now you just have to get on with the parenting and all the other stuff.

My mom is here, cooking dinner, holding babies, taking Beaner to the park, etc. What a help. I am scared about how tired we will be when all the help is gone and Hubby has to go back to work. But, we'll get through and keep our fingers crossed that this one is a better sleeper than Bean.

The to-do list on the fridge has changed too, from pre-baby to post-baby to-do. It went from "stock the fridge" to "open the 529 plan"

If we can stay on track, I hope we can fund the extra college and pay off the hospital bills without dipping into savings. Hospital bills tend to trickle in a bit at a time, so I'm hopeful.

I hope this link works.

Best laid plans, right? Literally 2 hours after I posted about being induced on Friday (today) and hoping Sid didn't come early, I was on my way to the hospital to have him. He finally came out Thursday at 3:15. So,we officially are the parents of two giant blond baby boys. Who would have guessed. we head home from the hospital tomorrow. Thanks to all of the well-wishers!

Here is the link to the baby pics:

and hopefully no sooner. We go in for an induction Friday morning at 6 a.m. Doc promises me it will be much faster than Bean, who took 25 hours to come out. She seems to think Sid will be out by Friday afternoon.

That said, I am starting to dread the whole labor and recovery thing. It's going to be a lot harder this time, now than we have Bean to take care of too. Oh, and the months of not sleeping at night. Oh joy!

On a financial note, savings has been going OK, and I do have the paperwork to open Sid's 529 plan once he's out. Hopefully I will get his SSN in time to make the contribution for this year. I may be cutting it close, as I think it takes up to 6 weeks from the time you file the papers.

So, Bean is interested in playing with train sets. He thinks they are fun, and from what I understand,that phase tends to last for a couple of years for little boys.

So, I am orchestrating with the grandparents to assemble some Brio and other compatible wood-track sets for Bean's Christmas presents.

I got the deal of the century today on a used Brio train table on Craigslist-- $50. New, they are $125 just for the frame, with no insert. The lady also gave me two Thomas Dvds, a plastic Thomas train, and a train case. Great deal! I was also searching for some track pieces.

Well, my mom pipes up with "But honey, it's Christmas. Can't he have something new?"

My thought is of course, but when it comes to stuff like wood tracks, does it matter if they are new or not? And with all the money we saved just on the table, doesn't that free up more money for tracks and trains??

I guess I disagree that Christmas gifts are devalued if they aren't new from the store. If you can get more bang for your gift buck and really assemble something spectacular, does it matter that it's not in its original package?

Any thoughts?

Plus, I already bought the Bean a NEW Magnadoodle, an IKEA rocking moose, and the Leapster Word Whammer.