Frugal?

I just finished reading FB's article The Three Levels of Frugality. I think the closest description of myself would be Urban Frugal. I decided to assess where I spend and where I save:

SAVE

• I bring my luch to work amost every day. I eat out once or twice a month for lunch.
• I make Z's lunch for him almost every day. He probably eats out 3-4 times per month.
• We go out to eat ~3 times per month.
• We have credit cards that save us good percentages on almost everything we buy- including gas & groceries. (We pay them off in full every month)
• I am a ridiculous sale shopper, when I shop. Try not to very much, but when I do, I get a deal.
• I do mystery shopping to make extra side cash, but refuse to waste my time on surveys and the like.
• I usually dye my own hair when it needs it.
• We do vacations on a serious budget, but we find deals and still have tons of fun.
• We're planning on buying a house that is well below what we technically could afford.
• We drive used civics- great gas mileage, very reliable, not expensive. We always buy used cars. A new car depreciates 10% the minute you drive it off the lot.
• We don't have cable, and we have Roadrunner Lite internet- still DSL, but not suupperr fast.
• We drink only water at restaurants, and often get some great coupons.
• I have become quite the thrift shopper- I save us tons on home furnishings.
• We're still on our parents' cell phone family plans (for now), and pay them our portions.
  
• We keep "date nights" cheap or free

SPEND

• I buy top of the line cosmetics- make-up, hair products, lotions, shampoo, etc.
• Now and then I splurge on organic or vegetarian groceries (It's my reward for cooking him meat, right?)
• We travel quite a bit.
• I put a lot of effort and time into decorating and improving our apartment. I do it cheaply, but don't skimp on making it look nice.

So what about you guys? Frugal at all? Where do you spend/save?

Decisions, Decisions..

Sometimes the toughest decisions are those that put our logic up against our emotion. I think that's what I'm struggling with tonight. We just went and looked at a property that Z is totally ready to put an offer in on. Me.. still trying to decide. I'll give you a quick rundown, and I'd love you hear your opinions.

The Facts:

• It's a one story, brick, ranch-style duplex
• Garages in the center separate the living spaces (cuts down on the chance of hearing your neighbors)
  
• On 1.5 acres in the country
• Approx. 1200 sq. ft. on one side, and 1300 sq. ft. on the other
• 3 bed, 1 1/2 bath on each side, with the option of adding a bedroom or den on each side (there's a "closed frame" porch addition on the back)
• Tax appraised value is double the asking price (hello, instant equity!)

The Good:

• GORGEOUS area- lots of hills, woods, beautiful scenery that reminds me of home (Maine)
• Away from the city- way less crime, safe for kids, etc.
• Privacy!!
• Incredible Value
• Plenty of room for us to live in one side & rent the other out. The rental income would pay for at least 2/3 of the mortgage. Very smart Financially.
  
• Lower taxes than properties we've looked at in a county closer to the city
• Great layout, not cramped-feeling at all.
• In great condition- ceramic tile floors, newer berber carpet in some bedrooms

The Bad:

• It would be a 45 min. commute to work for me. I work on the Northeast side of the city- Z works on the Southwest side- it would be 30 min. for him- the same time we're driving now. So, not a big deal for him, but a little UGH for me..
• Having renters live right next door. Not ideal, but then again, it would only be temporary (~3-4 years).

So, I'd love to know your thoughts. I know most of you are already homeowners, and have been through this process before. So you know where we're coming from: We're still pretty young, aren't planning on having kids for 3-4 years, and are using that time to really try & "get ahead" financially. We LOVE the country, and are used to driving (I averaged ~700 miles/wk. in high school), just not sure I want to do that again..

Oh, and here's the view out the sliding glass back door (rainy and blah out today, but pretty nonetheless!):

Budget Friendly Idea #4

First, thank you all so much for your sweet comments on the last post! I love you guys! :)

Budget Friendly Idea #4- Do It Yourself, Darnit!

This is an obvious one in some areas- but there are also lots of things we could do ourselves that we don't normally think of. Like...

• Sew it! Even if you're a beginner, you can do so many things. Especially decorating items for your home. Grab a coupon and head to your local craft or fabric store. For $5-$10, you can whip up throw pillows that usually run $75+ and for $20-$30 you can create gorgeous curtains that usually cost upwards of $100. And, if you're lucky enough to find great remnant fabrics, you can do it even cheaper- check out these bad boys I finished up last night for about $5:

They were so easy & I finally found fabric that was dark enough brown to match my bedset. Perfect! Oh, and a hint with these types of curtains: hang them a little higher than normal. Too many times I've seen them done low & it makes the window look too 'covered up' & dark.

• Another area I decided to DIY was my hair. I couldn't justify $80+ every time my roots needed to be touched up, so I braved the box kits! And here are the before & afters: Worked just great!
• This one will only work if you've got a little bit of a natural knack for this stuff, but Z has decided to DIY any car repairs he can. Personally, I think it's so that he can buy more tools, but it does save us a lot in the long run! Tonight he was out in the garage rotating our tires. I love that man! :) And, I firmly believe that ANYONE can change their own oil. Yes, even this girly girl can! Thanks to my Daddy!

Rather than name all the other tried & true DIY projects, I'd love to hear about what you DIY! So, do tell!

Budget Friendly Idea #3

Quick note: As requested, I'll share my super-easy tiramisu recipe soon, but it'll have to wait 'til after work so I can copy it from my recipe box!

Budget Friendly Idea #3- Use what you've got!
This concept can apply to so many areas- simply using what you have already before you buy more. Here are some areas in which I'm going to attempt doing this:

• Groceries- This is an obvious one. Think about how much stuff you have sitting around in your fridge/cabinets/pantry. I'm going to attempt to use only what we have already (other than milk/limited fresh produce- stuff that goes bad relatively quickly) for the next month or so. It will probably mean getting creative & combining ingrediants I don't normally, but I'm sure my overstuffed apartment cabinets will thank me!
• Clothing- A tough one for most ladies! I'm also going to try and not buy any new articles of clothing until I've worn everything I own at least 3-5 times. I'm sure this will cause me to break away from those favorites that get overdone too. Of course- this rule will have to change as far as handbags go!! If I allowed myself to buy a new one after I'd used them 3-5 times, I'd be in BIG trouble. :)
• Necessity Items- Such as toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, Q-tips, hand soap, laundry care items, cleaning products, etc. Not sure about you guys, but I have a tendency to buy new soap or tissue boxes just because there's a new pretty design or color. I'm sure waiting until I need these things will definitely help.
• Beauty Products- Another tough one! I know I'm not the only one who gets excited about a new kind of hair styling product my fav. line comes out with or the new spring/summer shades of eye shadow. Oh, and don't get me started on buying oodles of hand creme. I cannot count how many bottles I currently have! But no more! I'm using it all up before I even lay my eyes on something new. (really!) I'm sure Z will be happy to have some bathroom storage space back!
  

What about you? Any other areas that you can think of doing this? Do share!

Photo Credit: http://www.editedinteriors.com/portfolio-organizing.htm

10k in 8 months??

Remember how I told you here that we had a gameplan? Yeah, well, just when I jumped on board Z's idea, we hit a roadblock, and it's back to the drawing board. The latest idea is Real Estate. Z's already read books, and had me attend a seminar with him on the subject. Now, we can't drive ANYWHERE without noticing simple things about people home's that could be improved and greatly increase the curb appeal and value. I personally like the idea because it means flexibility! Meaning, even if we did start out here in the midwest, there's always the option of moving back home and doing the same thing. So anway, this shift of plans has made us define our "save-like-crazy" philosophy a bit more..

To the tune of $10,000 in the next 8 months.

Eek! Sounds like a lot, but we've outlined a budget that will take care of it. The toughest part for me is going to be cutting out my "flex" budget. In our previous budget we each had $100/month to spend on "whatever". For me, it had been cute things for the house, clothing, girly stuff, etc. In an effort to save, we eliminated that.

I thought it would be horrible, but when I think ahead to what we're saving for- our own home, and financial stability- it makes me feel so much better. I am SO looking forward to what our future holds, and walking by that undeniably gorgeous new handbag isn't so hard when I think about what I'm trading it for. Besides, I think my current plethora of handbags that are taking up two of those back-of-the-door bag-hanging stips, will do just fine. :)

So why am I rambling on about this on my blog? Just to give you a heads up on what's to come- Lots of Budget-friendly ideas that replace the overlooked dollar-eating items, activities, etc. I'm no expert on the subject, but hopefully my attempts to tighten the budget reins will help someone else in doing the same! Feel free to share your own ideas or $-saving finds!

Budget-friendly Idea #1- Say goodbye to Blockbuster.

• To rent a movie there you pay ~$5 for a 5-night rental. Redbox & some grocery stores offer movies for $1/day
• If you're like me, you watch a movie once and return it. I can't watch a movie more than once unless there's a large enough time gap in between that I've forgotten most of it (which happens more than I care to admit). Do you really need a movie for 5 nights? As long as you can be responsible about returning it on time, You can save ~$4 per movie.
• Say you rent 2 movies/week (average for us- sometimes it's just 1). That's a savings of $32 per month, $384 per year. Not a lot, but it's a start.
  
• Redbox sends Z a text message every Monday with a code for a free rental. So that means we'd save $480/year if we only rented movies on Mondays! Not bad! Of course, weekends are a more popular time to rent movies, but I don't mind cuddling up for a movie on a Monday night! You can sign up for the text messages on their website.
  
• If Redbox or the local grocery store doesn't have the selection you want, it's much easier to swallow $5 once in a while than the $480/year.
  

Gameplan?

So, we're your typical newlyweds. Still trying to figure life out. Z and I have both grown up with a strong background in business, hard work, entrepreneurship, and people skills. We've known for a while that we wouldn't be the underdog in a company for our entire lives. We had a goal of business ownership and financial independence. Well, you've heard all about Z's business ideas if you've followed this blog for very long. The past couple weeks have brought him a new idea. And I'm more comfortable with this one than any so far so I gave him the go-ahead on it. It's in an area that he has expertise, and wouldn't need to do mounds of research to develop. So.. we have a plan. (!!)

Of course, any business requires investment, so that means we need to do some serious saving! Which shouldn't be too bad, because we can easily live on less than half of our income. We did a little looking at real estate last night- we want a place that has a nice house with room to grow (3+ beds) and a good amount of acreage as we want to have the business on our property, but not too close to the house. We found a few places that would work, but quickly realized that we need to do some saving for a down payment before we get ahead of ourselves. So, we figure that if we save for 6-8 months we'll have what we need and we can start looking seriously at real estate. We'd like to do it before Dec. 31 because of the first time home buyer tax credit.

I can't tell you how good it feels to finally have a plan in place for our future! Before we have kids we want to have the business bringing in enough $$ to replace my income so that I can be a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom. I'm looking forward to it so much.. especially the whole getting to decorate our first home part!

And speaking of decorating.. lately I've been toying around with the idea of going back to school in a few years.. for interior design. In my opinion, not a ton of schooling is needed to be good at this- you either have an eye for it or you don't. Of course, you can develop that eye, but if you don't have a knack for it, I personally don't think you'll ever be better than mediocre. I (humbly) think I have a decent eye for it and and just need a bit of training.

So anyway- I'll keep you posted on how everything goes! Hang on! It's going to be a fun ride!

How long did it/do you think it will take you & your hubby to get a solid plan for your future in place? Or maybe you just had it super together & knew before you got married? Or is it just always changing and evolving?

Other Random Bits:

*I'm going to be studying & taking the test to become a notary public (for work). Is it just me, or would that make you feel a bit like a more dignified citizen? :)

*I think I have a problem. Ever since getting a Post-It pop-up dispenser for my desk, the sticky notes are EVERYWHERE! Case in point:















*Z and I are heading to Michigan today after work. My family went up there yesterday and we're going to join them staying with my aunt and uncle who live there. I went to college in the same town, so we're planning on going to the beach where we had our first date! yay! The sad part is that tomorrow afternoon my family will be heading back to the great Northeast! I'm going to miss them so much, but plan to go visit them this summer.

And, to close, here's a couple pictures of that first date on the beach (we'd known eachother forever & phone-dated for a while before I moved to MI- that's why we were so "friendly"):

Wednesday Randoms

• I'm not loving being a girl right now. Enough said.

• I'm in love with these boots. But for $175.99? Not in the budget right now.. Delayed gratification, delayed gratification...
• I'm so thankful for my husband. I just asked him how the finances were looking for the month (He's in charge of that area & we've been trying to stick to a conservative, yet comfortable budget) and he said that all our bills are already paid for the whole month, and Friday we'll have all debt (minus car payment, which only has a few k) eliminated. It's weird, we could pay off the car, but it helps his credit score more if we just pay little bit by little bit. Credit is weird like that. Anyway, I'm just super glad he takes care of everything. We're planning on saving a good chunk of change over the next few years for some long term investments we want to make.
• I lost 1lb!! haha! Not a huge accomplishment, but hey, it's a start! Although, with the current amount of water retention in my body, I'm guessing next week will show much better results. I spent an hour on the elliptical at the Y last night & it felt great! The carb scale-down would be going 10x better if it weren't for Honey Bunches of Oats. Gosh. I crave them all the time.. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, that's what I'd pick (with skim milk of course). Oh, and YAY! Lindsay! She lost 2 lbs!!
• Another hubby one- any of you married to an entrepreneur will probably say an "Amen" to this one- in the time that we've been married (a little over 2 months) here's the many different extra income options he's considered: Poly-phase farming (or something like that), Online trucking brokerage, Alpaca farming, Creating a service based consumer website that's a mash-up of craigslist, ebay, hotels.com, etc., Writing & selling covered call stock options, and today's latest: windmills. Whew.. life is never boring!! And did I mention that him 'considering' them entails researching the topic for hours on end, buying a book, and spending coutless hours thinking and trying to explain things to me. :) For those of you who've never seen an alpaca, how can you not love them?? Look:

Note: It's okay if you just fell in love.


Happy Wednesday!! :)