A Dime at a Time

Navigating life and finances

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Dripping Pennies

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Are all those money earning sites worth the effort?  

That is one question I am often asked.  During what I now refer to as my “coupon days” I was often asked a very similar question.  For the record, I still use coupons.  With having moved to a remote area, my usage is just not as high as it was in the past.  I was never one of those hoarders having utterly ridiculous supplies of toothpaste, cereal, etc. , but did keep enough items on hand to last my family 3-6 months.  As much as I miss the saving, I wouldn’t trade where we live now.  I just need to focus more on what I can do to earn a little extra.

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First one down.

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Thanks to a totally unexpected blessing!

So very excited to report that we will be paying off IN FULL our smallest debt of $2,550.  This is one that we needed to have paid off by May to avoid any interest charges.  To say that I am excited would be a total understatement!  And to what or whom do we owe our gratitude?  Our mortgage lender!
You read that right!  Our mortgage lender.  Thanks to an overage (and quite a large one at that) in our escrow account our mortgage lender is returning $3,025 to us.  While some people might be mad for having overpaid, I’m thankful.  Before you think I’ve lost my mind, let me explain.  Prior to my dh and I joining forces and drawing the line in the sand to get debt free, we would have NEVER saved that amount of money just for the sake of saving.  With no definitive budget, that money would have been spent on anything and everything.  As for how our lender managed to so grossly miscalculate our account, to an extent is it understandable.  2016 was our first full year in our home and the previous owners had used it solely as a vacation home.  Must be nice to have that luxury!  In our state, second homes are taxed differently.  Since this is our primary (and only) residence, we pay less in property taxes.  
My news gets even better.  As a result of rebalancing our escrow account, our mortgage payment has dropped by $210 a month.  In all my years of owning a home, that has never happened before.  Guess there is something to be said for the old saying Never say never.  
Dh and I have been discussing how to use this new “found” money.  With our smallest debt soon to be history, that still left us with a little leftover money.  We decided to use that to pay our car payment ahead.  We will still continue to pay it monthly, but I like the cushion of having it paid ahead.  That way if we do have a short month (money wise) if absolutely necessary, we could skip this payment.  As for the decrease in our mortgage payment, we plan to put extra towards our baby emergency fund.  Dave Ramsey recommends $1,000 which we feel isn’t enough.  We started padding it with $50/week since starting the plan in January.  We would like to see that grow to $3,000.  First goal will be to get to $2,000 as fast as we can and then we will drop back down to adding $50/week until we reach the $3,000 mark.  As of today, we have $1,200 in our baby emergency fund.  
How are you doing at digging your way out of debt?  Had you succeeded at paying anything off?  Stay tuned as I continue to blog about our journey of getting out of debt once and for all!  
Lucy

Another day of spending

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I’ll be glad when this week is over.

We had yet another day of running errands and spending money.  I know, it would probably be easier just to get it all done in one day, but with various appointments, it isn’t always easy to do.  Bigger yet is the fact that my dh absolutely hates running from place to place.  Love him to pieces, but it sure tests my patience!  
My dh did go to the dentist yesterday.  It was originally my own appointment but they graciously let me give it to my dh.  Sometimes I can be very sacrificial, although in this case, I’m sure my dh would have preferred I not be.  lol  Any takers for my next scheduled appointment?  Anyhow, I thought they were going to finish up his root canal.  He had that done at the end of December.  This appointment was for a thorough exam.  Dh has 2 cavities which will need to be taken care of.  He will be going back today for a cleaning.  No clue as to when they will do the crown.  One thing about having a husband who travels for a living, I also take on juggling a lot of appointments for him.  We still haven’t received an actual bill (only insurance statements) so I’ll continue to budget $150 a month for all our dental work.  
We dropped the boys off at the groomers, giving us a 2 hour time frame to get some other things done.  Dh needed to replace his stolen drivers license ($18 grr) and I also went ahead and paid for our vehicle tags ($142) that were due early February.  Meant bumping it to January’s budget but the money is in the account so a week doesn’t matter.  We also inquired about replacing his (also stolen) passport, which won’t be cheap.  (double grr).  Dh got his haircut and we found him a nice wallet ($19) that was on clearance.  Still, that too was money that wasn’t budgeted.  I know God tells us to love and forgive our enemies, but I am having a hard time feeling this way toward the thugs that did this to my dh.  Admittedly I felt a small sense of sweet revenge in hearing that they tried to use our Discover card unsuccessfully 3 times.  We are both still fresh coming off this robbery, so please bear with me as I go through the emotions.  
We picked up our boys at the groomers.  With the discounts, the cost wasn’t terrible.  We spent $55 and they truly look (and smell) a lot better.  
Today dh will go for his cleaning, I’ll head off to work for a few hours and we shall see what the rest of the day brings.  Hopefully it will be a day of a lot less spending!  
Lucy

Money, Money, Money

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Spend, spend, spend…

How does a quick trip to town yesterday for just a few things equate to so much money being spent?  Some days it certainly doesn’t seem to take long.  This is especially more so true when my dh tags along.

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Prepping for next month

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A new month and new budget is in the horizon.  

Dh made it home safe and sound last night.  Good to have him home.  Also good timing in that a new month and new budget is on the horizon.  We aren’t quite yet where we can tally up how well we did in January, but we are close.  We still have a few bills that are looming, the dentist being one of them.    Our boys (aka dogs) also need to go for a nail trimming and that is something I hadn’t budgeted for but needs to be done.  Then there is dh’s wallet and contents.  Always something.

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What’s in your wallet?

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Probably not what Crapital, er Capital One would like!

No, I do not carry a credit card.  Not a single one!  I’m not saying that I don’t have one, I just prefer not to carry one.  After my dh being robbed of his wallet yesterday, we are trying to come up with a good, safe alternative for him.  With traveling so much for work, he needs to have something.  One thing I did like about Discover was that even if his stolen card had been used, we would not have been liable for the charges.  We just don’t like the fact that someone even has his card, whether he would be liable or not.

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The phone call in the night

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Very seldom is it good news.

Shortly before heading off to bed, I wrote a post about ice cream and getting a good night of rest.  Well, unfortunately after receiving a 1:30 AM phone call, that didn’t happen.  When I finally did hear and answer the phone, at first I thought I had overslept.  To my groggy eyes the clock read 7:30.  The frantic caller on the other end was my husband.

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Random Ramblings

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And possibly a hidden confession

Yesterday was a productive day.  I put 4 hours in at my part time job.  With 2 senior dogs, that (along with travel time) is about the extent of how long I can leave them in the house.  Their bladders simply can’t handle me being gone for much longer than that.  I’ll be thankful for warmer weather when I can have them out in the garage from which they can access an outside pen.  At 13+ years of age (human years) hard telling how much longer they will be with us.  The boys have been good companions so until it becomes a quality of life thing (for them!) we will do what we need to do to accommodate their aging bodies.   
While I was at work, I was called in for an impromptu meeting with my boss.  I knew it was coming but really wasn’t entirely sure how I would answer his impending question.  The question was regarding whether or not I would consider taking over for another employee who will soon be retiring.  It would amount to about a 30 hour work week.  I’ve been on the fence with this and it has nothing to do with our aging dogs.  While we could use the money-and honestly how many of us couldn’t-there are also other things to consider.  In addition to this job I also work a seasonal job that I can do 50% of the time from home.  I do make decent money during those 5-6 months.  Then there is yet another consideration and that is my e-commerce business which has really taken off.  Anyhow, at the end of the meeting, I decided to turn down the offer and keep my hours as is.  Taking the offer would mean I couldn’t work my seasonal job and it would also limit the time I have to devote to my business.  I pray I made the right choice.  
After coming home to let the boys out, I made a needed trip to town.  Had to drop off some things to my bookkeeper and run a few other errands.  Put gas in my car twice.  Had $1 off coupons that were getting ready to expire.  While I wouldn’t go out of my way to save a dollar as it would only be defeating the purpose,  I had to pass by two of these stations anyway, so I figure why not save a little extra.  It all adds up.  We get 8 of these $1 off coupons each month from our newspaper.  I’m trying to be better about using them.  
I’ve been reading a lot more blogs about personal finance.  Perhaps partly because misery loves company and also because I feel encouraged when reading them.  I receive a personal glimmer of hope when someone writes to say they paid off another credit card or a car loan or even bigger yet, their mortgage.  If others are doing it, I know we can too.  We are tackling $55,749.69 in non-mortgage debt.  This is a combination of a home improvement loan, credit cards and a car loan.  There.  I said it.  My hidden confession.  I’m also secretly hoping that since I’m just starting my blog that this post will eventually get buried!  Maybe, just maybe, at some point I’ll be brave enough to have a running total more prominently displayed, but for now, I will leave it here.  As for what we are  currently snowballing, it is an interest free loan of $2,550.  It needs to be paid off by May to avoid any interest charges.  One way or another, we will do it.  
Do you have any personal finance blogs you would recommend?  After this confession, I can use all the inspiration I can get!  
Lucy

The conveyor belt of life

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Reflecting on life, or as my dh would say…overthinking it!  

How many of you have a love hate relationship with social media?  My gut is that many of us do.  Great to read the happy and good news but not so great to read the sad and the bad news.  
Yesterday a friend of mine from high school posted that her mom had passed away.  Just a few days earlier, she had posted that her mom was being placed on hospice so her passing didn’t come as a complete surprise.  Having lost my own mom three years ago, my heart bleeds for my friend.  Although losing an elderly parent is a natural progression of life, it still leaves an emptiness when they do go.  Thankfully for my friend (and myself!) we know this is only an earthy goodbye.  I honestly don’t know how a non-believer handles the pain of losing a loved one without this assurance.
One of many things that still stand out to me during the funeral preparations for my own mother was my sister saying “We’re the next ones on the conveyor belt.”  Although I secretly thought “No, you are as you are 6 years older than me!” my sister did have a point.  While that is one conveyor belt ride we will all eventually take, there are plenty of others we will ride first.  While some will be chosen for us, thankfully there are a lot of others that we, ourselves, can choose or choose not to take.  
This blog is very much about making a choice.  We made a choice to draw the line in the sand and do something about our debt.   While I realize that simply making this choice doesn’t guarantee that we won’t ever get rerouted – Murphy has a way of doing that to even the best of us – at least we have each other to keep from falling.  
I also know there are a few other belts I should probably consider hopping on, but for now, I’m good following the journey of this one.  Yes my sister, life truly is a conveyor belt.  
Lucy

7 Hours of solid sleep. Go me!

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So good to wake up not feeling tired!  

My body and sleep have had a very long history of not being friends.  Whenever I actually do get enough rest I feel like a new person…at least for the day!  Thankfully today is one of those days.  My sleep issues stem from several things, one being severe RLS and another biggie being the weight of our debt.  I’m sure working as a nurse on third shift for 20 years of my life didn’t help either.  
Yesterday turned out to be an excellent day for our finances which I’m sure helped me sleep.   I was able to reduce our auto insurance from $1,063.50 down to $526.50.  We pay our premium every six months which saves us $75.  Being bound and determined not to put it on our credit card (as sadly I’ve done in the past) and also not wanting to dip into our baby EF of $1,000 I decided to call our agent.  We have three vehicles, two of which are not drivable during the Winter.  One is an older paid for truck in need of repairs and the other a car we are upside down in.  Since we can’t drive either right now, we reduced the coverage to just theft, fire, etc.  We really need to get rid of that car and the payment attached to it!  Baby steps!  
Another good thing is that our electric bill was under budget by $1.44.  We were over budget last month by $2.45.  I realize to some this isn’t a big deal but when you are watching every penny, it is!  
I also had $25 go into my PayPal account from Swagbucks which I then transferred to our checking account.  Certainly don’t get rich from these types of sites, but it all helps.  
On a side note, I still need to figure out some of this Blogger stuff.  I was used to WordPress and this is a little different.  Being in my 50’s I don’t adapt to change quite as well as I used to.  But you can’t beat free, so I’m sure I’ll eventually learn it!  
I need to work for a few hours today.  Trying to increase my hours and thankful for a flexible job that lets me do so.  Now I just need our weather to cooperate so I can actually do so!  And our journey continues….

Lucy

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