Shocking News

I started this blog a LONG while ago and then I promptly forgot about it.  I'm not sure what happened (life with two small children, maybe?).  I was on my Blogger account looking for another neglected blog that I needed to update with family events, and I stumbled onto this one.  I had forgotten it existed.  I had also not realized that there were people who have looked at this blog.  Recently.  Last month, it got 11 views.  This would be depressing news for a blog that was being updated fairly frequently, but I haven't posted anything new since 2011. 

All of this leads me to believe that *maybe* someone might want to read what I have to write.  That being said, I think I will update more frequently than bi-annually.  After all, a girl does have to live a little, right?

Chili's E-Club

Chili's e-club will send you a free gift on your birthday, as well as other freebies/coupons throughout the year. Click this link to sign up.

Dove Conditioner Freebie

Free conditioner!

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Dog or Cat Toy Freebie

thePaws.com is offering a free toy for your dog or cat.

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Bottled Water

I have purchased bottled water in the past (mostly for convenience and the bottles), but I may not be able to do so in the future after reading this website:

http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/12/11/fun-facts-about-bottled-water/

And I quote:

"“The price of bottled water is up to 10,000 times the cost of tap water.”

In Cary, NC, tap water costs about a penny per gallon. So that’s 1/8th of a cent per 16-ounce serving. The cheapest bottled water at BJ’s (a giant warehouse store with bulk pricing) is 15 cents per 16-ounce bottle. So bottled water costs 120 times more than tap water in the best case. If you pay $2 for a bottle of water at the airport, then bottled water is 1,600 times more expensive than tap water. And at the airport you drink from the drinking fountain for free.

Note that if you drink tap water at home, you also need to consider the cost of the cup or container, and the cost of cleaning the cup or container for reuse. So the 10,0000 estimate in infographic sounds high. But there can still be a pretty big difference in price between bottled water and tap water.

Penn & Teller (below) note that Americans spend $4 billion per year on bottled water."

The mathematical value of the compact fluorescent light bulb

I have long wondered if the value of the CFL in savings paid for it in initial cost. Since these bulbs can often run $1.36 a bulb (at your local Sam's Club), and a comparable incandescent is ~$0.35 each.

We are reasonably sure that the environmental savings is there, but the environment and my wallet need to be friends, so let's compare.

According to an article on “The Simple Dollar,” running a CFL for 30,000 hrs. costs approximately $144 less than running an incandescent for that same amount of time.

So CFL wins hands down when direct costs are considered. However, there may be some indirect costs to consider.

Let’s learn a little bit about the CFL bulb.

Not all CFL bulbs are created for the same use. There are certain instances where you would need to purchase specially rated bulbs (which probably cost more, although I am unsure at the moment), or change the way your light fixture works (also costly). Another thing to consider is that CFLs (even the dimming ones) do not dim “pretty”—the lighting can seem harsh, and flickering is also observed.

Regular CFL bulbs should not be used in fixtures containing:

• Dimmers
• Timers
• Motion sensors
• Wall sconces
• Recessed lighting

Most of these will shorten the life of the bulb, and past experience included, that shortened life span is 3 months of use in a fixture with a dimmer vs. 5 years for a CFL in a regular light fixture. Also, CFLs do not like to be “right side up” in fixtures. It makes them run hotter for whatever reason.

Apparently, there are some other issues with CFLs, such as disposal of broken and worn out ones. You must take them somewhere that accepts these mercury filled lights. In addition, when a CFL dies, it can sometimes go out smoking. There is also a possibility of fire due to non-flame retardant plastic on the bottom casing of certain bulbs.

In short, CFLs are a great idea if you purchase the right ones for your current fixtures, and they are encased in flame retardant plastic on the bottom.

I cannot end this article properly without stating my personal usage/stance on this subject. I use CFLs (purchased in bulk from Sam's Club) in most of my fixtures. However, I use regular incandescent bulbs in my lights with dimmers.

Sources:

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/02/10/the-light-bulb-showdown-leds-vs-cfls-vs-incandescent-bulbs-whats-the-best-deal-now-and-in-the-future/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

Sorry It's taken me so long to post.

I'm back. I haven't had a lot of time lately, and I am re-assessing what I am blogging about/for.

So here's an update.

I have paid off the last credit card. I will pause while you clap and high five....

Anyway, we have 1 debt to go (guess who!). However, this could take a bit. We haven't been applying as much $$ to ol' Sallie due to lack of extra income.

And...I am going back to school. I should graduate in May. Wish me some more luck.

I hope, time permitting, to have some more posts quickly. I may be taking the blog in a different direction (not exactly sure how it will go).

Thanks for reading,

Gina

Chickens

Are for food. We have purchased six chickens who will *hopefully* lay enough eggs that we don't have to buy them anymore by the end of summer. Also, if they get too annoying they might get eaten. Be good chickens =-p.

There are six in all: Pam, Tetrazini, Parmigiana, Nugget, Fried, and Alfredo.

Poop on the Weather/Strep throat

So we are not having a garage sale this weekend. There is supposed to be scattered thunderstorms and it will only be 60. I am not sure when the garage sale will take place, but it is eminent. Hopefully, once the garage sale is completed we'll have an extra bedroom and the house might be decent enough for guests to visit.

In other debt free news (lol), it feels as though we are sliding backwards. On Sunday I visited the ER. We just paid off medical debt a month ago. Here comes more. On a good note, I think the wisdom teeth payoff will happen as planned. Sallie Mae might take longer with medical debt edging her out of the number 1 spot. It feels like a vicious cycle. Pay off debt in one month and add more the next. I am looking for an end. It feels like it will never end, but we HAVE killed debt. We are NOT in the same place we were before. It just feels hopeless. But it isn't. And until it is over, I will have to keep reminding myself that it's not. We will win. Eventually...

Pray for us.

Garage Sale

Pending the weather reports (I won't hold a garage sale in under 70 degree weather that isn't sunny), I intend to have a garage sale next weekend. Wish me luck.

Car for Sale

I now have a car for sale on Craigslist. I don't know if it will sell or not, but if I do, then I plan on using the 50/50 plan. 50% of the money goes to another vehicle to replace it, and the other 50% goes towards debt. I don't know if/whether this will work out or not. I am completely unsure of myself right now.

Annoying redirections are over

I had a "debt countdown" that was causing the page to redirect to "deplayer.net" I have removed this widget, and that has fixed this error, so neither of my readers should experience this annoying problem anymore.

Car Selling

I am possibly thinking of selling the Prius to pay off all of the debt. We don't owe on the car, but it isn't in the best looking condition, and we are waiting on the claims department of another insurance company to repair damage done to it by one of their insurees (I have no idea what to call the guy who hit our car in the Walmart parking lot in November).

Selling it would pay off all of our debt instantly. But then we would need a reliable car and would have no money to purchase one. We could possibly use the upcoming tax return to purchase a car, but the amount of time that we would have in between purchasing a car and selling the Prius is sketchy.

This would benefit us in that the Hubby could quit his 2 extra jobs, and I wouldn't need to child sit.

And life would be PERFECT.

NOT!!!

But it might be nicer and just a little bit easier.

I think this ease would be better than any car I could ever own.

More on this later.

New Job

Now the wifey has a job. I will be babysitting a 4 year old and a 1 and a half year old. This puts us about $200 away (a month) from paying off all of our debt this year! We are going crazy!!!

Distractions

Don't get distracted from your goal. If you want to get free then DO IT. Don't let other goals sneak in and steal your thunder. If being debt free isn't your number 1 goal, then focus on your number one until it is time for you to get debt free.

However, if being debt free is numero uno, then by all means, GET TO IT.

NOW

Not later.

NOW!!!

Remove distractions, and you will be more effective in your efforts.

Here is an example (because I love examples):

Say your number one goal is to be debt free, but you also want to finish your education one day. Unless the finishing of your education is DIRECTLY correlated to being debt free.

And I don't mean if your income MIGHT go up if you get a 2-4 year degree higher. I mean absolutely directly. Like the promotion is promised based on school completion, and you will be getting debt free faster because of it. Also, if you don't have the money for it (in cash), then you aren't ready to buy it. Period. NO exceptions. Side note: I cannot count how many times I have paid for something when I thought I absolutely needed it, and then it turned out that I didn't need to purchase it for whatever reason (like the government paid for it--thank you FAFSA).

Sometimes things that feel extremely urgent aren't really urgent at all. Sometimes it's a God issue. You need to let go and let God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5

*Translation is from the NET Bible, which can be found here.

Rusty

I know that sometime my words do not flow as elegantly as I would like them to. It has been a long time since school, and even longer since I wrote a paper of any sort. I would like my words to read more like prose, and less like someone who hasn't ever written before (I used to be quite the writer), but they don't. Yet. I hope that someday my words will flow. Until then, this is how it is. Any comments or suggestions?

Good.

Never Buy Here Pay Here

I am owning my thoughts with this one, so bear with me.

Never use buy here pay here car lots. They rip you off. A couple of friends of mine purchased a car at one of these places today. They paid double the Blue Book value.

Also, if you are at all attempting to save money, do NOT visit a store/car lot. You will end up purchasing something one day. Maybe you don't do it the first time or even the third time. You will eventually buy something, whether or not you have the money.

Case in point: the pet store.

My husband and I (especially I) had a habit of visiting the local puppy store. We did not purchase anything for years.

Then... there was Tinker. We were "browsing" one day after a doctor's appointment when we picked up this adorable Chihuahua.

And then we dropped her.

Well, not we, HE dropped her. So now we own a sweet, beautiful chihuahua who doesn't like my husband.

At all.

Long story short, only go to stores when you intentionally plan on buying something. Because one day you will buy something, whether you planned on it or not.

I make $100 an hour

according to this article on clipping coupons from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

I guess we know who makes the big bucks around here. =-p

Jobs

So the husband has successfully completed his first day of work at his 3RD JOB!!!!!!

I know he's crazy. WE are crazy. I want to kill this debt in 6 mos. I know the counter counts down for 18 mos *which is the worst case scenario, barring not getting debt free at all or incurring more debt, but "this is serious, this matters!!!"

Harps: Free Suave Deodorant

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Use the $0.50/1 Suave Deodorant Product, exp. 2-28-10 (RP 01/31/10)

FREE after coupon and doubles!

It is not completely free. You will have to pay the $0.07 in sales tax. Sorry =-D