A Dime at a Time

Navigating life and finances

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What we *think* we will do

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Hubby is out there somewhere!

Vacation Pay

Decisions, decisions!  Thank you for all the suggestions and comments regarding what to do with our vacation pay.  Interestingly, no one recommended a boat fund!  Ha ha!  No worries, we had already axed that off our list.  Aside from knowing it wouldn’t be a smart thing to do while battling debt, a neighbor has also since helped lessen the want of a boat.  Hubby went out fishing last night and again this morning on our friend’s boat.  Although I wouldn’t feel right about us doing so, the neighbor said we are welcome to use it anytime we want.   [Read more…]

Vacation Pay. Opinions Please!

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What would YOU do with it, and why?  

So, my Hubby is nearing his one year anniversary at his job and with it, brings up the topic of vacation pay.  He changed companies last year not only for better pay but also for better insurance.  While overall it has proven to be a wise move, it wasn’t without a few drawbacks.  He is away from home a lot more, which is a change neither of us likes.  Once we get our debt paid off, he will likely move to a lower paying position within the same company that will get him home more often.  Another drawback was the vacation pay for the first year isn’t all that great.  Thankfully he will accumulate it at a significantly higher rate once he hits the one year mark.   [Read more…]

Taking Care Of The Four Walls

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Food, Shelter, clothing, and transportation.

Taking care of our four walls is something I needed to remind myself of today.  Financially, July has been a tight month for us.  Admittedly, some of this was our own doing as we pushed June’s debt snowball to the limit.  Finding a healthy balance has never been a strong point for us, and apparently, this is also the case when it comes to paying off our debt.   [Read more…]

We want your money!

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June’s bills in July and then some.  

Guess what bills we received this week?  All the bills I was expecting to see in June!  On the bright side, I knew they were coming.  There always seems to be someone wanting our money.  Helps that they weren’t a big surprise.  Even better, is that we have a plan.  As to what we received and what we are going to do about it, keep reading! [Read more…]

Frugal Friday

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Making our money behave.

Yesterday was payday!  Yay, especially since I was down to $23 in my wallet, $20 of which was earmarked for the empty gas tank in my car.  Aside from the bills we pay online and checks to our church; we primarily use cash.  In doing so, we make our money behave. [Read more…]

When paint touchups morph into entire rooms

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Thankfully paint isn’t a major budget buster!  

The repaired wall my husband had been working on has received a fresh paint job.  In an attempt to do good, he also touched up a few other walls that had scuff marks.  While his intentions were good, sadly the paint color is a shade off.  We will now be repainting our entire main living area.  More time and money spent but as I prefer to look at it, could be far worse. [Read more…]

Still moving forward!

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 Busy days with my hubby home!

Busy days right now with my hubby home.  It seems like there is always so much more to do with him home.   One of the biggest challenges is to keep our budget in check.  Added groceries, a trip to Lowes, annual vet expense ($350-ouch), hair cut for him, a long overdue dental visit, oil change for the car…it feels near impossible to keep the wallet closed. [Read more…]

A budget friendly living room makeover

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Because we don’t have $20,000 or even $2,000!  

I am often amused shocked at what some interior designers consider to be average costs of decorating.  According to Laurel over at Laurel Home, you cannot update a living room for $2,000 bucks.  Her post goes on to show an update she did for a client costing over $20,000!  Wow, what a bargain.  No disrespect, but even if it were my taste, there is no way our budget could handle that kind of a price tag!  Then there is Lorri, over at Lorri Dyner, who seems a tad more in touch, at least when it comes to the cheaper end of things!   She gives examples of a budget redo of $2,000 to a high-end of $33,000.  I get it; furniture does cost money, but does it have to cost that much? [Read more…]

Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Why we continue to save.

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Extra bills, unplanned purchases, and a short check:  The potential makings of a financial storm.  

Yes, this is how our month has gone so far.  We took yet another hit when hubbies last check was short.  Groan!  He has a very irregular paycheck and depending on what time in his pay cycle he comes home, it causes his check to be one of either feast or famine.  Needless to say, when you are digging out of debt, the latter is never a good thing! [Read more…]

What I won’t give up while digging out of debt.

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Getting out of debt takes sacrifices, but there are things that I still won’t give up!

Looking in my pantry earlier today, I couldn’t help but wonder about the pantries of others who are digging themselves out of debt.  Lately, my pantry looks beyond sparse.  I’m sure anyone else taking a look would have to wonder what I even eat!  There is some store brand canned goods and other basic cooking supplies (can we say beans and rice!) but then almost sticking out like sore thumbs, there are a handful of name brand items.  Yes, there are some things we simply won’t give up, no matter what the cost.  As we travel this road, there is are also 2 (yep, just two!) other things that are also non-negotiable.  So then, just what are these things?   [Read more…]

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